Final Fantasy Remix Vol 3 Scars of the Past
by youna.yoru
Summary: Scars of the Past, the third fan fiction of the Final Fantasy Remix series, and has three new additional characters; Kadaj, Loz, & Yazoo. It has a different theme than the other fan fictions, also quite 'angsty'. Feat. Cloud, Reno, & Rane OC
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

_All the characters here are of Squaresoft's FFVII RPG game except for Rane__ Lockhart, R__ynn Lockhart__, and Lynx Almasy__. This is a fictional story and does not relate to any real life situations._

_This story features the three silver-haired brothers and is a dedication to the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie – which, if I may add, was worth the two-year wait. All hail Tetsuya Nomura and Nobuo Uematsu, and all those brilliant people at Square-Enix._

'_Scars of the Past' is a sequel to both the previous volumes of Final Fantasy Remix, so it may be a good recommendation that you, the respected reader, begin with 'Reminiscences'. A much thank you to my beloved family and friends, and my deepest gratitude goes out to all the readers out there. Thank you for reading this. _

_God bless you all. _

_- Youna_


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

'The Day after You'

_Two and a half months later, in Midgar … _

_Not another one,_ Rane Lockhart thought as she pulled out the letters from the mailbox that she had rented from the post office nearby. A P.O. Box, they called it. There were two mails that day; one was from her sister, and the other one from Cloud Strife. Again.

Rane stuffed the letter from Cloud into her backpack without reading it and began opening her sister's letter as she walked out of the post office. She smiled briefly when she saw Rynn's familiar handwriting.

_Hiya, Rane! How's everythin' in Midgar? Awesome, I'd expect! Unlike here in Balamb, the only interesting thing here is Sephiroth (hehe)! Actually, we threw a surprise party for Zell about a couple of weeks back. It was the best thing since Sephiroth exists …anyway, guess what that immature brother of Lynx's gave Zell for his birthday? A jack-in-the-box. How childish can you get, seriously? But I gotta hand it to him, though, cuz he planted a chocolate cake right on that thing's head, and when Zell opened the box, it popped up and went _splat!_ Right in his face! I was in hysterics! I couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes! It was a crazy party, but I wish you were here! It just isn't the same without you, Rane. But don't worry, cuz I'm gonna be right there sooner than you think! I know you miss me heaps, so I don't want to put you in any more suffering. Well, honey, I'm ending your suffering soon, in about a week, you'll see me! Or maybe less. . I so can't wait to go back to Midgar! And Sephy is gonna come too! I miss you so much; we all do!_

_So tell me, how's Reno doing? *wink wink* are you guys …you know …*ahem* …hehe just joking! I'm curious, though, cuz you're always telling me in your letters that you guys are just friends …but …I mean, come on, Rane; are you _sure_? I think he's in love with you, Rane. Okay, okay, I know you hate getting that from me, so I'm just gonna talk to you when I get there!_

_Oh, and one more thing …have you been receiving letters from …you-know-who? If you have, maybe you should write back, Rane. Just a little piece of advice from your gorgeous beloved sister hehe. _

_Love ya!_

_Xoxo, Rynn_

Rane felt tears clouding her vision as she refolded the letter and stuffed it back into its envelope. She missed her sister greatly. She took a deep breath and started walking back to where she lived. She put the letter into her backpack, then gingerly took out the other letter and stared at the handwriting. Even the familiarity of the handwriting squeezed her heart tightly.

Since she left Balamb Garden about ten weeks ago, Cloud had never stopped writing letters to her. At the end of each week when she went to pick up the mails, she would always find one of the mails from him. She never opened any. All the letters were kept in a shoebox that she shoved under her bed, pulling it out at the end of each week just to put a new one in. She couldn't read them. Not if she was trying to start anew.

She stared at the letter in her hand as if it were something that had just fallen out of the sky. She felt as if she didn't know what to do with it.

Rane hesitated, realizing that her hands were shaking as she tentatively started to open it. Before she could open the letter any further, the sounds of screeching tires on the asphalt behind her and a loud double honk startled her. She jumped back and spun around.

"Hey, babe, wanna ride?"

Rane inhaled sharply, her heart thumping wildly. But she relaxed instantly when she saw who was behind the wheels of the convertible Porsche. "Reno, you idiot! You almost ran me over," she snapped, although she wasn't really mad.

Reno Langley grinned as he pulled up next to her and leaned on the top of the car door. "Nah, I wouldn't do that. Whatcha doing here?"

Rane brushed back a few strands of her hair and sighed. "I came to pick up the mail."

"You walked all the way here?" Reno asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes." She saw his expression and glowered at him. "Why, you have a problem?"

"Nah, nah, it's just that – haven't you heard of public transports or cars?" Reno smirked.

"Yes, I have, but I like walking. What's wrong with walking anyway? I get plenty of exercise, sunshine, fresh air and I don't have to pollute the environment."

"In Midgar your fresh air is recycled poisonous waste gases from the Mako reactors."

Rane shot him a look. "Thank you very much for being so pessimistic."

Reno snickered. "I was just pulling your leg, Rane. Come on, get in."

Rane glanced around, then went around the car, opened the door, and got in. "Thanks," she said.

Reno leaned over and dropped a kiss on her cheek, then winked at her. He pulled off the curb and drove off down the lanes. "What's that in your hands?" he asked after a few seconds of driving and listening to the loud music.

Rane realized that she was still holding Cloud's letter, and quickly covered it with her hands, trying to do it subtly. "Oh, nothing, just letter from my sister," she said nonchalantly.

Reno took his eyes off the road and glanced at her briefly before turning back. He shifted in his seat, and turned down the volume of the radio which had been blasting loudly before. "I see. Your sister changed her name to Cloud Strife?" he asked casually.

Rane flinched, her heartbeat accelerating. He was quick to notice things, and she should know better after almost three months of living with him and his friends in a mega huge house. She bit her lip, then sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied," she said quietly.

Reno nodded and put on his dark glasses, shielding his blue eyes. They drove in uncomfortable silence for the next few moments. Rane sighed inaudibly and leaned her elbow against the car door, thinking about what Rynn had asked in her letter. Things with Reno were complicated. About three weeks after she returned to Midgar with him, they had gone out to watch a movie, and even now, Rane couldn't recall exactly how she ended up kissing him in the dark theatre. But that was all. They spoke nothing of it like it had never happened. Sometimes she felt as if she was finally reaching past his barrier, but other times, he shuts himself out. She wasn't even sure about her feelings for him, let alone his feelings for her. She wasn't even sure why she had kissed him back.

"You ever reply them?" Reno's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Rane glanced at him, then shook her head. "No. I …I can't. I wouldn't know what to say," she said softly. "Besides, I never read his letters anyway."

"Why not?"

Rane hesitated. "Well …because I don't want to think about him when I'm here. I don't like keeping things that remind me of him."

Reno was silent for a while. "What if he was going to commit suicide, and that letter you're holding is the only way he's reaching out to someone for help, but you disregard it?" he asked suddenly.

Rane looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and then opened it again. "Cloud would never do that. Why would he?"

Reno shrugged, and looked away from her. It was something that Rane realized he always does whenever he didn't want to talk about something. In this case, it was Cloud. He hated Cloud from the first time he met him, and he never tried to hide it, not even from her. "Because he loves you," he said flatly. "He just can't get over you, can he?"

Rane glanced at him, surprised at the anger in his voice. "What is it with you?" she asked in a puzzled voice. "What are you so angry about?"

"Nothing," Reno muttered, shaking his head. "Forget it."

Rane bit her lip and turned away, wondering for the umpteenth time when or what she have to do to get Reno Langley to open up to her.

_Two days later, in the Turks' mansion …_

Rane knew something was different from the moment she stepped into the house. All the lights were turned on, but there was no one in the main lounge room, or in the den. But there was loud laughter and noisy chatters somewhere nearby.

She dropped her backpack in the living room and pushed the sliding glass doors open to find everyone lounging by the pool. Or at least, drinking by the pool.

"Hey!" Rude hollered, holding up a beer bottle and saluting her unsteadily. "Look everyone, it's Rane!"

Rane rolled her eyes. Not one of them was sober, including Elena who was usually her sober companion. But she couldn't help grinning at them. "What are you guys doing?"

"Getting drunk, what do you think?" Reno called out, grinning as he swaggered up to her and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, Tseng, give her a bottle!"

Rane laughed. "I don't want to drink."

"Oh come on, darling, we're celebrating here. You gotta drink!" Elena urged, grinning.

"Celebrating what?" Rane asked, promptly grasping a bottle of beer that Rude had just shoved in her face.

"The Turks! We got promoted. Guess what? We're made heads of security at Shinra! Whoo-hoo!" Rude hooted, slapping high-fives with Reno and almost losing his balance.

"You did?" Rane asked Reno in surprise, grinning. "Wow, that's great!"

Reno laughed. "Damn straight. We deserved it, didn't we, boys?" he asked them.

"Hey, I'm not a boy," Elena sulked.

Tseng walked up to her and hugged Elena around the waist, turning to face Rane. "Come on, Rane, go get changed and get drunk!" he said to her.

Rane realized that they were all wearing their swimming outfits. She grinned and shook her head. "You guys. Alright. I'll be back in a sec." She left them singing at the top of their lungs and splashing around in the pool, and went into her room. She stripped off her clothes, dumping them in the laundry basket, and put on her bikini before heading back out.

The first surprise when she walked back through the glass doors was being doused with champagne. "Wha –"

"Oops! Sorry!" Rude called out, who was holding a bottle of champagne still frothing at the mouth. He started giggling. "Didn't mean that!"

"Rinse-off time!" Elena sang, and the next thing Rane knew, she was being shoved into the pool headfirst.

"Hey!" Rane yelled as she went splashing into the pool.

When she resurfaced, sputtering, everyone else had jumped into the pool and flocked around her, laughing hysterically.

"Welcome to the Turks' celebration party!" Tseng cheered, and they all knocked beer bottles together.

The rest of the evening was a haze. She remembered a lot of laughing and shoving each other into the pool. A while later, they all got out and tried playing poker, but Rude lost the first two rounds and ended up dumping all the cards into the pool. Now they had fifty-two pieces of Tseng's nudie cards floating in the pool. After that, Rude and Tseng went into the house to grab some snacks and more beer. Elena went after them.

Rane went to the edge of the pool where there were little steps leading to the pavement and sat down on the second step, tilting her head and wringing water out of her wet chestnut hair. Then she attempted to run her fingers through her hair to rid it of the tangles as she felt herself sobering up a little. She felt a presence behind her and looked over her shoulder.

Reno sat down next to her and looked back at her. "You don't have to do that. You look beautiful anyhow."

Rane looked at him and flushed, pulling her hands away from her hair. "Is that the alcohol speaking for you, Reno Langley?" she teased.

Reno chuckled, looking down at the shimmering pool water flecked with cards now. "Something like that. But it's still me," he said.

Rane smiled and shook her head, but said nothing.

He took her hand suddenly, and gazed into her eyes. "You can tell, can't you, Rane?"

Rane was speechless as she stared back into his blue eyes, trying to see if he was joking or not. She opened her mouth slightly, but couldn't think of what to say yet. After a while, she finally said, "I don't know, Reno. It's difficult, sometimes, to tell what you're thinking."

Reno stared into her eyes. He reached up and caressed her cheek lightly, and without warning, he slowly leaned forward, closing the mere inches between their faces, and covered his lips over hers in a warm, passionate kiss. At the touch of his lips, Rane's body stiffened a little, but when his hands snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him, the water soothing their bodies, she gradually relaxed into his grasp, and into his lingering, hot kiss. Time seemed to slow down around them, and in that moment, the only thing in her mind was Reno's blue eyes and his sensuous lips.

She ran her fingers up his sinewy arms, round the back of his neck, and pressed him closer. Their kiss deepened, and she felt as if she had no care for anything else in the world, except for that single moment she's sitting there on the pool steps with him, half-immersed in the water, kissing him.

They parted after what seemed like hours to catch their breaths, and Reno pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, and said huskily, eyes still closed, "Just so you know …I'm sober enough to know what I'm doing, Rane."

Rane pulled a few inches away and tenderly pushed his red bangs off his forehead, staring into his eyes. "I just want to know something, Reno," she said quietly.

Reno opened his eyes and gazed at her. "What?"

She was quiet a while as she gathered her thoughts, trying to find the right way to ask the question. "The other night, at the movies …did that mean something? Or …is it just one of those it-feels-right-at-this-moment kiss?" she finally asked, in a quiet voice.

Reno cracked a faint smile. "Well …what do you think?"

"I don't know," Rane said uncertainly. "That's why I'm asking you …we – you never talked about it …after that night."

Reno was silent for a moment. "Well, I can tell you now that it certainly wasn't one of those it-feels-right-at-this-moment kiss," he said softly, the corners of his lips curving a little.

"So it meant something, then?" Rane asked softly, gently tracing a finger along his jaw line.

He smiled tenderly as he lowered his face towards hers to kiss her again. "Course it does. It always means something."

_My d__earest Rane,_

_I don't know if you've been reading my letters, but I hope you have, even if you're not responding to them. This is the last letter you'll probably get from me, because I'm going to Midgar tomorrow. I just want to let you know, I'm not giving you up this easily, Rane. I love you. Isn't that obvious enough? Those years we spent trusting and loving each other …how can I throw it all away? You were right; I did make a mistake. A mistake I wish I had never made. A mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life. But I cannot turn back. All I'm asking now is for you to forgive me and give me another chance to love you and treat you right again. I know you're in Midgar with Reno. But like I said, I'm not letting this blow over easily. I still love you; and you're worth fighting for._

_Love always,_

_Cloud Strife _

_A few days later, in Turks' Tavern …_

"Finally. Just the two of us girls," Rynn sighed, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she nursed her drink.

Standing behind the bar, Rane smiled as she tossed a tablecloth aside. "Yes, finally. Not for very long, though."

Rynn glanced over her shoulder at the group of patrons crowding around a poker table. Sitting around the table playing world-class poker were none other than the Turks, excluding Elena, and Rufus Shinra. "So …" she turned back to face Rane. "I heard that the Turks got promoted. That true?"

Rane rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. They had this celebration party the other night and everyone got drunk. Rude threw a deck of cards into the pool while playing poker, and we all had to pick the soggy cards the next day."

Rynn laughed. "Sounds like fun."

Rane shook her head, smiling. "It was insane."

Rynn looked at her from out of the corner of her eyes. "So …you sure nothing's going on between that sexy red-headed Turk and you?"

Rane flushed. "Well …not really."

Rynn drummed her fingers on the bar top. "So you're telling me you lived with him for what, three months, and nothing happened?"

Rane hesitated. "Well, not really three months. And … we did kiss. But that's all."

Rynn's eyes widened and she stopped drumming her fingers. "You did?" she asked in surprise.

Rane smiled, embarrassed. "Yeah."

"And?"

"And …nothing. I told you, that's all."

"We're talking about the same Reno Langley, right?"

Rane raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Rynn shook his head. "Unbelievable. You'd think he'd jump on you the first chance he gets."

Rane laughed. "Come on, Rynn, he's not like that."

"Are you kidding? The Reno that I know is the biggest womanizer on this planet."

"It doesn't really bother me," Rane replied, looking at her sister.

"It doesn't bother you that he's the biggest womanizer on this planet?" Rynn echoed.

Rane shrugged. "I mean …we're not really together, you know? Okay, so we kissed, but I don't even know if it really means something. He's just so …different. When we're alone, he's a completely different person. When we're around others, he's exactly like what you see right there," she said, nodding towards the crowd of people surrounding the poker table.

Rynn sighed. "Honey, just because he's a different person when you guys are alone doesn't mean that you can't take him seriously."

"I know, but …" Rane bit her lower lip as she gazed across the dimmed bar at Reno. He was laughing and nudging Rude as they fanned out their cards.

Rynn paused for a moment as she sipped her martini. "You're not comparing him to Cloud, are you?" she asked suddenly.

At the mention of Cloud's name, a chill ran up her spine, and Rane felt her body going cold. She stared at her sister for a moment before she found her voice again. "W-What are you saying?" she stammered. She didn't know why she felt so cold suddenly.

"Nothing," Rynn said innocently, then went back to sipping her martini.

Rane stared down at the bar top, silent for a moment as she sat thinking. "How did you know he wrote to me?" she asked quietly, fidgeting anxiously with her fingers.

"Oh, what do you know. I'm psychic," Rynn replied slyly.

"Rynn …"

Rynn sighed exasperatedly. "Because he told me!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air. Then she rolled her eyes. "You know, unlike you, I still talk to him. He's still my friend."

Rane looked up at her sister in stunned silence, not believing what she had just heard. "What? What do you mean, unlike me?"

"Never mind," Rynn muttered.

"No, say it again, because I cannot believe I'm hearing this from you," Rane snapped, anger rising inside her like lava in an erupting volcano.

"The least you could do is write back, Rane, to let him know you're still alive, for God's sake," Rynn burst out angrily. "He writes to you every week, but he gets nothing. Doesn't he mean at least something to you still?"

Rane stared at her, seething inside. "How can you say this to me?" she said quietly, although she was struggling to control her anger.

"What do you expect, Rane? You didn't have to stay in Balamb garden with him and watch him crumbling as each day goes by! In all those years I've known him, I've never seen him so depressed, Rane. I care about him too, you know, so why shouldn't you?" Rynn shot back.

"He cheated on me!" Rane yelled without thinking. The bar suddenly went very quiet and everyone turned to her. Even Rynn looked stunned at her outburst. For a split second, she met Reno's eyes and at that moment, she knew that he knew who she was talking about.

She couldn't take this anymore. Without another word, she stormed out through the back door and ran into the darkness as fast as she could. She didn't want to have to face Reno. It would make things even more complicated than it already it. She ran as far as she could. She didn't want to turn back.

But running away would not help. She knew it deep in her heart, but she still ran anyway. She ran away from Balamb, not wanting to face Cloud's horrible betrayal, and now she's running away from Midgar, not wanting to listen to her sister talking about Cloud, and not wanting to face Reno and their complicated relationship.

She stopped running when her sandaled feet touched cold ocean water. She lowered to a crouch and brought her hands to her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. She sobbed, feeling angry at herself for being so weak.

_If only none of this had happened. If only Cloud had never kissed Tifa, then …all this would never have happened. _But whose fault it really was? She wanted to blame Cloud, but she couldn't. She didn't know why. She wanted to forget about him and move on with her life, but she couldn't. Not because he kept sending her letters that she never opened, but because she just couldn't forget about her first lover Cloud Strife. She never opened his letters because she was afraid that her heart would give in too easily. Sometimes she felt as if she could forgive him, but she didn't know if it was the right thing. He had betrayed her and not only their relationship, but also their longtime friendship. They had shared so much together, that she never would have thought he'd do something to hurt her.

But like she knew running away never helps, she also knew that people makes mistakes, and one can only learn from their mistakes. She couldn't make up her mind. She didn't want to, not now, not ever. She never wanted to face it again.

"Why can't I just get on with my life?" she sobbed. "Why?" She grabbed a handful of wet, fine sand and hurled it into the sea. "I hate my life!" she screamed into the dark depths of the ocean. "Why? Why is it that everything has to happen to me?" she sobbed. "I loved you, Cloud. Why did you have to hurt me like this …?"

_Later that night …_

"Any signs of her?" Reno asked as Rude and Tseng walked into their house. Even before they answered, he already knew the response just by the look on their faces.

"Nah, man." Tseng put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sure she's fine, she just needs to cool off. You okay?"

Reno nodded curtly. He had attempted to run after her when she bolted from the bar, but he lost her in the darkness. She was too fast. "Yeah," he said tiredly. "Where's Rynn?"

"Up in the guest room with Sephiroth," Rude said. "She's really upset about the whole thing."

Reno took a deep breath. "Listen, guys, thanks for looking around, but you guys can hit it off now." He started walking towards the door.

"Reno, where are you going?" Tseng called out.

"The bar. See you guys tomorrow." Reno slammed the door behind him without waiting for their reply and took out his car keys, heading towards his car. He got in and sped off, way over the speed limit, but he didn't care. Right now, the only thing in his mind was Rane. He didn't want to think that anything bad happened to her, because then he would never forgive himself. If he didn't find her tonight, he wouldn't be able to sleep.

He had to find her, and talk to her. He knew that the time for him to tell her his true feelings were long overdue, but it wasn't too late yet. Every time he tried to tell her, he felt himself closing in. He couldn't do it. He didn't know why, but it irritated him.

Reno drove to the Turks' Tavern and parked his car right in front of the entrance. He pulled the keys out and went into the bar. A few drunks were sitting around, but Reno ignored them and walked straight to the bartender he recognized as Sally, who was standing behind the bar top cleaning the tulip glasses with a cloth.

"Hey, Sal, have you seen Rane?" Reno asked, leaning over the bar top.

Sally looked at him and smiled. "No, I haven't. But …" her eyes flicked up and down his body seductively. "Will I do instead?"

Reno pushed himself off the bar. "No," he said shortly and walked off without another word. He left the bar and drove off again, this time without a destination. He cruised around the streets of Midgar, with little hope of seeing her standing by the side of the dark streets. He propped his elbow on the top of the car door and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose. He could feel the alcohol he had consumed tonight slowly wearing off, because reality was sinking in like a ton of bricks thrown in the river.

"Come on, Rane, where are you?" Reno muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists as he tried to control his frustration. He drove around for a long time, cruising the outskirts of Midgar, but found nothing.

He finally parked his car near the palm trees on the beach and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He was sobering up and he could feel a massive headache settling in. It was almost dawn, anyway.

He must have dozed off for a few minutes, because he was dreaming that he found Rane when the twitter of his cell phone interrupted. Reno sat up and pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, flipping it open. "Reno Langley."

"Where are you, man?" It was Tseng.

Reno looked around and saw the beach, shimmering with the early rays of sunlight. "Nowhere in particular," he muttered.

"Well, you can come home now. Guess who just walked in a few minutes ago?"

Reno closed his eyes, feeling relief washing over him like the seawater washing over the shores of the beach. "Rane's back?" he asked.

"Yeah. She went up to her room. Still on the outs with Rynn, I suppose," Tseng said glumly.

"Is she …okay?"

"Who, Rynn?"

Reno frowned. "No, Rane."

"I suppose so. Didn't get a chance to talk to her, cuz I was sleeping and heard the front door opening. Got out of the bedroom, thinking that it was you, and when I saw her heading straight into her room, I called you. You coming back now?"

"Yeah."

"Good. We all need some rest, Reno. And don't worry; she's safe here at home."

Reno hung up and started the car, driving off the beach and heading back to Midgar. When he arrived at the Turks' mansion, he parked the car into the garage and hopped out, jogging towards the house. He went into the house and headed straight to Rane's room.

He tried the doorknob quietly and found that it was locked. Fishing his keys out of his pocket, he found the key to her room that he had secretly copied and inserted it into the doorknob. He entered the room silently and closed the door behind him.

He heard the shower running and knew that she was in there. For a moment, he thought about the time when they were on the ship to Junon during the SeeD exam a few months back. He had gone into her cabin and she had been in the shower when she walked out a few minutes later, half naked.

Reno smiled at the reminiscence. As he crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, he felt his bare foot hitting something solid beneath the canopy bed. Curious, he bent over and groped around. He found that the solid object he had hit was actually a shoebox. Unlike other shoeboxes, this one was much lighter.

Reno frowned. "What the hell …" he muttered, pulling open the lid off the box to reveal a whole pile of envelopes and letters. He rummaged through it, and as he realized that half the letters in the box were unopened and from none other than Cloud Strife, he felt his blood running cold. _I don't like keeping things that remind me of him …_

She had lied to him. So much for not keeping his letters. She may have not opened them, but she still kept them anyway.

Reno stared at the letters in the box, his mind whirling. What did that mean? After what that lowly scum did to her …she still could not forget about him. Inhaling sharply, Reno took the letter on top of the whole pile, and turned it over. It said, _From Cloud Strife, Balamb Garden._ He noticed that the corner of the seal was slightly opened, but the rest was tightly sealed. Then he realized that it was the same letter he had seen her holding the other day when she was sitting in his car.

She was about to open the letter when he drove up to her.

Reno rubbed his jaw, then tore the envelope open. He knew that if she found out, she would be furious. But he couldn't help it. He pulled out the letter in it and read it. With each word that he read, he felt his body going cold.

_I'm going to Midgar tomorrow …_

Rane had gone to pick the letters up five days ago. Which mean that Cloud Strife …was here already. In Midgar.

Reno sat there, staring numbly at the letter in stunned shock. Rane doesn't know that, because she hadn't opened the letter. She probably never will. Either way, Cloud Strife was going to surprise her.

"No way," Reno muttered, gritting his teeth angrily as he crunched up the letter in his fist. The sound of the shower running suddenly stopped, and Reno felt his heart lurching. _Shit._ He stuffed the crunched-up letter into his pants pocket. Then he quickly closed the lid on the shoebox, shoved it under the bed where it was before he took it out, and jumped to his feet.

He wasn't going to talk to her now. As quietly as he had entered, Reno left the room hastily and locked the door behind him.

"Alright, Cloud Strife," Reno muttered under his breath, clenching his fists. "You wanna fight for Rane? You'd better believe _I'll _make this fight worthwhile."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

'The Secret Op'

_Next day, at the Turks' mansion …_

"Whoa. Check out this baby," Rude whistled, pointing at the picture of a sleek, silver Mercedes sports car on the front page of the car magazine. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Rane, both just woken up and eating their cereals, at midday. "Wish I got one of these."

"Hey, that's the car that I'm gonna drive at the race this weekend," Rane said slyly.

Rude glanced at her, his eyes widening. "Bullshit. You're kidding, right?"

"No way," Rane protested, shaking her head.

"That's unfair! Why do I get a Mazda when you get a Merc?"

Rane grinned. "Well, you just have bad tastes in cars. Weren't we all allowed to select our choice of cars?"

"Yeah, but …" Rude groaned. "Man, with a Merc, you'll definitely win the race."

"Come on, we both know it's not the car that determines who's the winner. Besides, RX8 is a pretty damn good car," Rane said reasonably as she spooned a mouthful of cereal into her mouth. "So stop sulking. At least we're in the race."

"Well, then I guess the only thing you'll see of me in the race is the dust that blows out when I'm speeding way ahead of you," Rude remarked. "That is, if you're lucky enough."

"Oh yeah?" Rane said, grinning. "Don't be too cocky yet, Turk. We'll see soon enough."

"How about a trial run this afternoon, then?" Rude challenged.

Rane raised an eyebrow as she sipped her orange juice. "You got a car for me?"

Rude smiled slyly. "Sure I do. So how 'bout it?"

"You just got yourself a rival," Rane said, smiling slowly.

"Mornin', peeps!" a voice suddenly sang out. Rane and Rude both turned to find Rynn entering the kitchen with Sephiroth. Rynn stopped when she saw Rane, her eyes turning wary.

Rane looked at her, and said calmly, "I'm not going to attack you or anything, Rynn. Let's just let bygones be bygones, okay?"

Rynn smiled and nodded. "Sure." She headed to the cabinet and opened it. "Sephy and I are on our way out, so we're just going to grab these breakfast bars here."

"Hey, those are mine!" Rude protested.

Rynn turned and smiled sweetly at him. "Oh come on, I'm sure you wouldn't want me to starve, do you?" she asked coyly, patting his bald head.

Rude started protesting, but Rynn grabbed Sephiroth's hand and quickly left the kitchen. He sighed dejectedly and returned to his cereal.

Rane grinned. "Don't look so dejected. It's not the end of the world."

Rude rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm glad at least to know you both are not biting each other's heads off."

Rane shrugged. "We're sisters. We tend to argue every now and then, it's nothing big."

"You sure looked furious last night at the bar. I thought you were going to kill someone," Rude joked.

Rane laughed and threw a piece of corn flake at him. She laughed again when he caught it in his mouth and chomped it down. "It's nothing, really. I guess I was being a little too sensitive. Besides, we were both a little tipsy; she probably didn't mean to say that to me."

Rude nodded, his mouth full with cereal. He chewed slowly and swallowed before speaking again. "What was it that she said?"

Rane chewed for a moment, then put her spoon down and looked at him. "Cloud writes to me every week, but I never read his letters nor did I write back once." They both fell silent for a while. "Anyway, last night, we were talking about it. Rynn said I shouldn't be so harsh on him. Something like, if she could still talk to him and care about him, why shouldn't I? I got angry. You heard what I said; in fact, the whole bar did." She chuckled bitterly.

Rude was silent as he concentrated on his cereal. "You're still mad at Cloud, huh?" he finally said.

Rane picked up her spoon and continued eating. "Frankly, I'm not sure, Rude. Sometimes I feel like I've already forgiven him for what he did, but other times, I feel betrayed still. I don't know." She shook her head, looking down at the bowl of half-eaten cereal. "I don't like thinking about it, but I know sooner or later I'll have to face it again."

"Yeah. You can't run away from bad things; it doesn't help," Rude said.

Rane sighed, pushing her bowl aside as she felt herself losing her appetite. "Tell me about it. So help me God."

"What about Reno?"

Rane glanced up at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "What about him?" she asked quietly.

Rude shrugged. "I mean, don't you guys have the hots for each other?"

Rane felt her face flaming as she lowered her eyes. "Um, I don't …it's nothing like that," she said defensively.

Rude rolled his eyes. "Come on. That night at the pool? You guys were so into _it_ you didn't notice the rest of us hiding behind the bushes trying to stifle our laughter." He started grinning.

Rane's mouth fell open. "What?" she exclaimed. "You didn't!"

"Oh yeah, we so did," Rude replied, winking at her. "You better believe it."

Rane flushed furiously as she stood up, taking her bowl to the sink to rinse it. "I can't believe you guys," she murmured, embarrassed.

Rude snickered. "There's nothing to hide, Rane. Love is very natural," he drawled dramatically.

Rane whacked him in the head playfully.

"Ouch!" he cried. "That hurt!"

"Good, because it should. Better get ready soon, Mr. Love-is-very-natural. You don't wanna miss your chance to try and beat me," Rane said as she punched his shoulder playfully, and left the kitchen.

_Later, __at__ Shin-Ra's Headquarters …_

Reno Langley tossed two blown-ups on his desk. He was sitting behind his desk at the Turks' office, facing the four men he had summoned. He pushed the photos across the desk slowly, and said, "Take a good look, boys. This is your assignment." Then he leaned back against his chair and pressed his fingers together to form a tent. "Jude and Kyle, I want you both sweeping every street, every bar, every restaurant, and every hotel in this city. Find him," Reno ordered shortly. "Finn and Jason, you do the follow-up. Talk to people, but do it discreetly. Tell anyone who's seen him to keep quiet about it, or else."

"Yes, sir," the men murmured in unison.

Reno looked at the faces of the four men. "Lay low. Keep in constant contact with each other and with me. I want updates every hour. When you spot him, let me know and don't do anything until I get there." He paused, looking down at the photos. "One more thing. Don't let him see any of you, or even be the slightest bit suspicious. He's not an idiot, so I don't want any of you messing up. You know the penalty. That's all. You're all dismissed."

After the four men left, Reno sat behind his desk, still deep in his thoughts. Then he slowly got up and left the office. He was going to make sure Cloud Strife wished he had never returned to Midgar.

_Back at the Turks' mansion…_

"Hey, look who just pulled up the driveway," Rude said happily to Rane, who was lounging in the den. They had been watching cable TV for the past fifteen minutes – or rather, arguing over which channel to watch and flipping the channels every five seconds.

Rane took her eyes off the TV and glanced up at him. "Why are you so happy about that?"

Rude smiled sneakily. "Because we can start our race now."

Rane sat up, looking at him suspiciously, then out through the glass windows where Reno was walking up the front porch, his eyes shielded behind his dark glasses. "Why? You found a car for me?"

"Oh yeah." Rude nodded towards the window at the shiny silver convertible Porsche that belonged to none other than Reno.

Rane stared at him as if he had lost his mind. As a matter of fact, he had. "Are you insane? Reno's Porsche?" For some reason, she found the thought to be funny, and started laughing. "You must be either very stupid or too naïve to actually believe that Reno Langley would let anyone in this entire planet even touch his precious Porsche, let alone getting behind the wheels."

"Trust me, if that anyone is you, he would," Rude grinned as he got up from the couch and headed towards the front door where Reno was entering.

"Rude, wait!" Rane called, jumping up from the couch and hurrying after him.

"Reno, my man!" Rude said cheerfully as he threw an arm around Reno's shoulder at the doorway.

Reno glanced at him strangely, then looked at Rane. "Did he pop the pill or something?" he asked her.

Rane laughed nervously and shook her head. "Uh, no. I –"

"You going anywhere, dude?" Rude interrupted her.

Reno stepped away from Rude and stared at him suspiciously. "Why are you so interested suddenly?"

Rane stepped in front of Rude and smiled up at Reno. "He's had a little bit to drink, so he's kind of high right now," she said in a low voice.

"Hey, what you talking about?" Rude protested, and pushed her aside.

"Hey!" Rane complained as she stumbled a little.

Rude ignored her and said to Reno, "Hey man, I was just thinking, you're not using your wheels, are ya?"

Reno folded his arms across his chest. "Are you asking to borrow my Porsche?"

"Congratulations, Contestant number whatever, you just won – a microwave!" Rude cheered, clapping his hand.

Rane was beginning to think that maybe Rude really did have a bit to drink during breakfast. "Reno, he's –"

Reno was staring at Rude as if he had just sprouted two horns on his bald head. "Are you for real, man?"

"Come on, do it for Rane! I got my own set of wheels, but she –" Rude glanced at Rane as if realizing for the first time that she had been standing there the last five minutes. " – she's too poor to get her own wheels for a practice race."

Rane glowered at him as she propped her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute – a _race?_" Now Reno was looking at them both as if they had just suggested that they were going to elope together. "Let me get this straight; you want to borrow my brand new Porsche for a mud race?"

"What mud race?" both Rane and Rude protested in unison. Rane glared at Rude, then turned to Reno. "Look, forget it, okay? Rude was just being an idiot."

"Does that mean I win by default?" Rude asked slyly.

"No!" Rane snapped.

Reno rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, why don't you guys tell me what's really going on instead of beating around the bush like this."

Rane took a deep breath and glanced at Rude. "When you said you got a car for me, I didn't think you were that stupid to be thinking about Reno's," she muttered under her breath to him.

"Okay, fine. Reno, man, you know the car racing competition this weekend? Well, Rane and I are already qualified contestants. Anyway, we were just talking about it, and we thought it would be good to have a practice run. You know, getting ready for the competition. As you know, I got my own baby, but she doesn't, so she gotta find one. I mean, Tseng's Audi is probably equipped with baby seats and all that crap, who knows? It's a classic old clunky. Your car, on the other hand, is state-of-the-art. All I'm saying is, if you'd just be kind enough to lend her your car, then well …we'll all be eternally grateful," Rude explained.

Rane shook her head. "Come on, Rude –"

"What's in it for me?" Reno asked.

Rude stopped, glancing briefly at Rane. "Oh …well, what do you think?" he smiled brightly. "Rane and I discussed about this, and guess what? You'll get ten free hot dates with Rane Lockhart!"

"What?!" Rane whipped her head to stare at Rude in disbelief.

Reno was looking at her directly as he started grinning ear-to-ear. "Whoa. Serious?"

"Of course," Rude confirmed.

"Hey –" Rane started protesting.

"You'll get the Porsche, then," Reno said simply.

Both Rude and Rane stopped talking and turned to stare at Reno simultaneously.

"You serious?" Rude asked incredulously. Even he was dumbfounded.

"Sure," Reno said, looking at Rane slyly. He held up his car keys.

Rane was too surprised to say anything, but Rude wasn't. He grabbed the keys and punched Reno in the shoulder.

"You're the best, man. We'll take good care of your car, don't worry." With that, he dashed out of the house and whooped loudly, running towards Reno's Porsche.

Rane finally found her voice as she looked up at Reno. "You're seriously going to lend me your Porsche?" she asked doubtfully.

Reno chuckled. "Sure, why not? If it means ten dates with you, yeah."

"Hey, Rane, whatcha waitin' fo'?" Rude yelled from across the driveway. "Move that ass!"

Rane glared at him, then turned back to Reno, taking a deep breath as she smiled bashfully. "Well, thank you, then."

Reno nodded. "Just go kick his ass."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I will." She winked at him, then turned and ran out to meet Rude.

"Reno."

Reno glanced up lazily at Tseng, shielding his eyes from the sunlight with his hand although he was wearing his sunglasses. "Yo. What up?"

Tseng sat down on one of the lounge chairs by the pool and faced him. "Just got off the phone with Rufus." He paused. "Please tell me it's not true."

Reno was silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and grabbed the beer bottle off the little table next to the lounge chair, and took a swig. "Well, sorry, man, but it is."

Tseng shook his head. "Reno, are you insane? What are you trying to do; get those guys to track him down and kill him?"

Reno gave a short laugh. "I wish, but no. That would be too easy."

"Reno Langley!"

"Okay, okay!" Reno said, holding up both hands in surrender. "Gee, you sound like my dad."

Tseng glared at the younger Turk, crossing his arms over his chest. "You wanna explain it to me?"

"What is it you think I can tell you that you don't already know from Rufus?" Reno asked easily. He saw Tseng's expression, and sighed. "Okay, fine. Cloud Strife is back in town, and I just want to make sure he doesn't get the chance to surprise Rane or even catch a glimpse of her."

"I see." Tseng nodded. "And why would you want to do that for?"

"Because!" Reno threw his hands up in the air in exasperation as he sat up. "I don't want him waltzing back into her life while I'm still in the middle of trying to tell her how I feel!"

Tseng rolled his eyes. "It's been almost three months, Reno. That should have been enough time."

"Not with someone like Rane. Did you expect me to just tell her that I love her at the dinner table?" Reno snapped.

Tseng shook his head. "Man, you're asking for more trouble. What do you think you can do to stop Cloud from seeing her?"

"Break his legs," Reno muttered.

"I'm being serious, Reno."

"So am I, okay?" Reno inhaled sharply. "I don't know, Tseng," he said, irritated. "All I know is that I'm not giving up Rane without a fight. And he wouldn't either. So there."

Tseng was quiet as he gazed out at the pool. "Have you thought about what Rane's reaction would be if she finds out?" he asked quietly.

Reno twirled the beer bottle around lightly in his hands as he fell into his deep thoughts. "Course I have. What do you think this is all about?" he snapped.

"Reno, man, listen. You gotta stop this right now. Call those guys off. Let Cloud do whatever he wants. Rane broke up with him because he cheated on her; what makes you think she'll go running back into his arms when she sees him?"

"Look, what I'm doing is just getting that spiky-head jerk out of my way so this thing between Rane and me doesn't get anymore complicated. Besides, how would you know if she won't go back to him?"

"That's not the point, Reno. The point is, if she finds out you're doing this behind her back, it gets even more complicated. Worse still, you're probably pushing her into the arms of her old flame. Remember that you both still haven't established an official relationship yet, Reno," Tseng said sensibly.

This time, Reno said nothing. He had thought about this and he knew how right Tseng was.

Tseng went on, "Cloud is not an easy guy to manipulate, Reno. He's as tough as they come."

"I'll take him. I don't care." Reno shifted around in his seat and turned to stare right at Tseng. "Look, I'm not going to hurt him or anything, okay? The reason I summoned those guys is because I want to find him as soon as possible, before Rane sees him or vice versa. I want to talk to him first."

Tseng looked back at him for a long moment, then exhaled. "Okay. Just don't get hurt in the process, Reno."

_Later in the evening …_

"I cannot believe you beat me," Rude grumbled unhappily as he and Rane got out of their cars and walked up the driveway. "What a bummer."

"It's not like it's the real thing, Rude. We still got the race, remember? And please remember on that day, that we're on the same team and not racing against each other."

"Fine," Rude said, still not happy that he had lost to a girl.

Rane shook her head as she turned to him. "I cannot believe you made up that stupid deal without telling me about it first."

"What deal?"

"The deal in exchange for Reno's Porsche!" Rane snapped, although she wasn't really mad at him.

"Oh, that. What's wrong with dating Reno?"

Rane took a deep breath. "Nothing. Everything. I don't know."

Rude laughed at her response. "That doesn't say much, does it?"

She sighed. "It's just that –" Before she could finish her sentence, the front door burst open and her sister ran out.

"Rane! You're finally back!" Rynn squealed. "Did you kick some serious Turk ass?"

Rane grinned as her sister threw her arms around her in a bear hug. "You bet I did."

"Hey, I was only being easy on you," Rude protested.

Rane laughed. "Right. Whatever. Keep on thinking like that if it makes you feel better about yourself, Rude-O." She grabbed her sister's hand and headed inside the house. "Where did you and Sephiroth go today?"

"Oh, around. Midgar has changed a lot, hasn't it?" Rynn said.

"It sure has. Don't you know it's called the City of Light now?" Rude interrupted from behind them.

Rane glanced over her shoulder and frowned at Rude. "Hey, do us a favor and go away. Don't listen in on our conversation." She turned back to Rynn. "Did you see the new shopping mall that they built on Fifth District?"

"Of course! It's awesome, isn't it? We have to go back there, just you and me, sometime soon!" Rynn gushed.

"Oh, I know! It is absolutely to-die-for, isn't it? I cannot wait to check out the new line of skimpy underwear!" Rude chimed in.

Both Rane and Rynn spun around simultaneously and glared at him. "Rude!" they snapped in unison. "Go away!"

Tseng popped his head through the slightly opened glass door that led to the pool. "What is going on, guys?"

"Rude is just being rude," Rynn said, and she and Rane both cracked up laughing.

Tseng chuckled. "Well, did you win the race today, man?" he asked Rude.

Rude's face turned beet red. "No," he muttered.

Reno appeared next to Tseng, half-dressed in his swim shorts, and snickered at Rude. "What, what was that, Rude? You lost a car race to a girl?" he mocked, pushing the glass doors open slightly wider as he sauntered into the living room where everyone was standing.

"Hey, I was only being easy on her!" Rude protested.

At that, everyone burst out laughing.

"It's okay, man. We all know each person has his own limit," Reno said, patting Rude reassuringly on the shoulder. "For you, the limit is forty miles per hour."

Everyone started snickering again, and Rude's face turned even redder. "Fine, fine, tease me all you want. Let's see who the winner is this weekend," Rude said, flushing furiously.

Tseng grinned. "Forget it, Rude. Let's just get drunk." He turned to Rane. "You too."

Rane rolled her eyes. "You guys. You get drunk every night," she said, shaking her head as she smiled.

"Hey, it's a good thing," Reno defended.

She laughed. "Only for you."

"Come on, let's go get you changed," Reno urged, taking her elbow and leading her towards her room upstairs.

Rane looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you following me if I'm going to get changed?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Reno grinned lazily as he glanced at her. "So I can ask you when you'd like to go out on our first date."

At the mention of that, Rane started blushing. She tugged her elbow away and started walking quicker. "I don't know," she murmured, embarrassed.

"Hey, why are you walking away from me?" Reno called to her.

"To get changed," Rane replied as she approached her room and opened the door. "See you soon." She attempted to close the door, but he held out a hand and pressed firmly against the door. She looked at him.

"How about tomorrow night?" Reno asked quietly, his face turning serious.

Rane gazed back at him, biting her lower lip as she decided. Then she nodded. "Alright, Reno. Tomorrow night."

A slow, sexy grin began spreading across his face as he straightened up. "Okay, then. Hurry up, slowpoke. We're all waiting." He blew her a kiss as he walked away.

Rane closed the door behind her after he left, taking a deep breath. Her heart was pounding loudly. _What's the matter with you?_ A voice inside her head asked. _You're acting like you've never been asked to go on a date with a guy._

Rane crossed the room to retrieve her bikini from her closet. It wasn't as if going out with Reno tomorrow night would be different than any other nights she had gone out with him alone. Still …

She couldn't help thinking that maybe this time, it was the _real_ thing.

_Or is it?_

As she took off her clothes and put on her bikini, she recalled what Rynn said about Reno being the biggest womanizer on the planet. She also thought about what Reno said about their kisses always meaning something.

But then again, what is a kiss to someone like Reno? He probably sleeps with a different woman every night.

_Why would I want to be with a playboy like him?_ Rane thought uneasily. Even so, something deep in her heart told her that Reno isn't all that they say he is. He was someone better, and more.

A few minutes later, Rane returned to the pool to find everyone else in it, playing a game of water volleyball. On one side was Sephiroth, Reno, Elena, and on the other side of the net was Rude, Tseng, and Rynn.

"Hey, we've got three girls now! It's boys versus girls," Elena shouted from the pool. "Rude, get out of the water; I've just declared you the referee!"

Everyone laughed.

"Why me?" Rude complained, but he got out of the water anyway.

"Um, because you're the odd one out," Elena grinned. "Don't worry, when we smash the guys bad enough, you can replace one of them."

The two teams that they formed were; the guys' team with Sephiroth, Reno, and Tseng, and the girls' team with Rynn, Rane, and Elena. The main rule that Rude came up with was, whenever a team wins a round, the opposing team had to drink a bottle of beer each. As they prepared for the next round in the pool, Rynn leaned across and whispered to Elena,

"Hey, El, you think this is a good idea? Us girls against the guys?" She looked at the other side of the pool where the guys were flocking around and discussing whatever strategy they could in that state of mind.

"Of course we can," Elena said firmly.

"I mean, look at them!" Rynn hissed. "We're going to be slaughtered."

Rane patted her sister's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll do alright. We'll make them miss so many rounds they'll be too drunk to spike the ball," she said, grinning slowly. "As if they're not already drunk enough."

The girls snickered.

Rude started the game, and pretty soon, everyone in the pool was so drunk that the only real thing they were doing was laughing at each other and fighting for the ball.

Halfway through the game, Rynn served the ball to Elena, who set it to Rane, who ended up spiking the ball over the net hard. The ball sailed over the net, and _wham!_

"Ah, _f***!_" someone on the other side swore loudly.

Rane gasped when she realized that the ball she spiked so hard had hit Reno right in the face.

"Shit, man, you okay?" Tseng asked in concern as everyone else gathered around him.

"Oh God! Reno, I'm _so_ sorry!" Rane apologized hastily as she swam towards them.

Reno pulled his hand away from his face and looked at the blood on his hand. "Holy mack!" he said, mildly surprised.

"Oh my God," Elena breathed. "That looks horrible."

"Come on, you gotta get out the pool, man," Sephiroth urged.

To everyone's surprise, Reno started snickering. "Man …" he shook his head and winced at the pain. "I think it's broken, but I can barely feel the pain. I'm not that drunk, am I?"

Everyone glanced at each other as if to ask if he had lost his mind.

"Come on, Reno, let's get your nose fixed," Rane said, her eyes clouded with concern. She helped him out of the pool.

"Go on with your drinking, guys," Reno called out to the others, grinning. "Don't worry about us."

In the kitchen, Rane pulled out a first aid kit from a nearby cabinet and grabbed a box of tissues on the counter. They were both dripping wet, but she couldn't care less. The blood flowing from his nose was frightening her. She filled a basin with warm water, pulled a chair closer to him and sat down across from him, taking a bunch of tissues and gently dabbing the blood from his face as he leaned back against the chair with his head slightly tilted back. "I'm so sorry, Reno," Rane apologized again as she knitted her eyebrows worriedly.

Reno smiled slightly. "Man, you sure know how to spike a ball," he remarked.

Rane shook her head. "I can't believe I hit you. Didn't you see the ball coming?"

"Hey, do you seriously think I'd stand there and wait for it to hit me if I had seen the ball?" Reno protested.

Rane took a ball of cotton and cleaned the blood on his nose, chuckling. "Maybe. See, that's what you get for drinking so much alcohol. Slow reflexes," she teased.

"Are you insulting me now?" Reno protested, pretending to be hurt.

She laughed. "I was just kidding, Reno." She tossed the cotton ball aside, then dipped a bunch of tissues into the warm water, and started dabbing his face again.

Reno looked at her. "Nah …actually, I was busy checking you out while you were spiking the ball that I didn't see it coming," he said, smirking.

Rane looked at him and flushed. "Right. Whatever." She avoided his eyes.

"I'm being serious," Reno said defensively.

"You should've been concentrating on the ball. Why would you want to do something stupid like that?"

"Stupid?" Reno echoed. "It wasn't stupid. Besides, I had no choice. I was mesmerized by you."

Rane laughed and poked him in the ribs. "You're so silly. Come on, sit up. I gotta fix your nose."

Reno slowly straightened into a sitting position and glanced at her. "Is my nose really broken?" he asked.

Rane looked at him and couldn't help smiling. "How would I know? You should know better. Does it feel like it's broken?"

"I've never broken my nose until now, thanks to you. So I wouldn't know how it feels."

Rane put on a pained look as she took the nose clip from the first aid kit and gently fixed it on his nose. "I'm sorry."

Reno grinned at her. "You should be. But guess what? I've got the perfect remedy for this broken nose."

Rane looked at him. "Really? What is it?"

"Give me a kiss, and I'll feel hundred percent better."

Rane flushed. She stood up and busied herself by collecting the bloody tissues and cotton balls and tossing them into the bin. "Don't be silly."

"Hey, come on. It's not like you've never kissed me before." Reno put on a pout which made her laugh.

Rane felt her face heating up even more, but she leaned over and quickly kissed him on the cheek. "There. Feel better now?"

Reno looked at her. "What was that? That wasn't a kiss! That's a peck," he protested. "In fact, it wasn't even a peck. I barely felt it. It was more like a – like a – mosquito bite."

Rane had to laugh. She threw a cloth at him. "No, it wasn't! It was a kiss."

Reno caught the cloth and tossed it on the table, then held out his arms. "Come here. I've got something for you," he said slyly.

Rane smiled as she walked closer to him. "How would I know if you won't try to seek revenge?" she teased.

Reno grinned slowly. "Sit here," he said, patting his knees. "Trust me, you'll like my revenge."

Rane laughed and sat down on his knees as he wrapped his arms around her. She smiled down at him as she placed a hand on his cheek, then lowered her face towards his to kiss him. Despite his face cold from the pool water, his sensuous mouth was warm as she kissed him tenderly.

For a long time, they were both lost in the lingering, passionate kiss.

"Whoa, what did I tell ya? We got some serious hot and steamy peek show here!"

At the sound of Rude's voice, both Rane and Reno jumped, startled. Rane leapt to her feet, her face burning with embarrassment. Rude and Tseng were standing at the doorway of the kitchen.

"Man, you guys, can't a guy get some privacy?" Reno snapped as he stood up.

Rude snickered, obviously drunk. "We just came to get more booze. Walked right in on a free show." He crossed the kitchen and went to the refrigerator.

"Reno, your nose feeling better?" Tseng asked.

"Sorta. It's kinda hard to breathe without hurting," Reno replied, glancing at Rane who was putting the first aid kit back into the cabinet.

Tseng nodded, and whilst the other two weren't looking, discreetly handed Reno his cell phone which he had left on one of the deck tables next to the pool, and a note. He gave Reno a knowing look.

Reno looked back at him, then quickly crumpled it up in his fist to hide it. "Uh, I'm going to go back to my room."

"Why? Are you feeling okay?" Rane asked in concern.

Reno glanced at her and smiled. "Sure, honey. I'm great. Thanks." He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, then hurried out of the kitchen and into his room.

Safe in the solace and isolation of his room, he unfolded the crumpled note and read it. It was short and sweet.

_They found him._

Reno felt adrenaline surging through his veins. He tore the note into bits and then threw it into the bin. Then he flipped open his cell phone and dialed a number.

When someone answered, he asked abruptly, "Where is he?"

"Believe it or not, Turks' Tavern." It was Jude.

Reno couldn't believe it. He was _that_ close. "Alright, stay there, make sure he doesn't move. I'm coming right down." He hung up, then quickly changed into a pair of pants, a rumpled white shirt and a coat. He grabbed his car keys off the dresser and headed out – and promptly bumped into Rane.

She was still in her bikini, her hair hung wet, and she looked at him up and down. "Where are you going?" she asked in surprise.

"Something just came up. I'll be back in a jiffy," Reno told her.

"What is it that's so important you have to go out at one in the morning?" Rane asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Reno stopped and looked at her, his eyes softening. "You know what kind of job I have, Rane," he said, smiling a little in hope that she wouldn't ask any more questions. Then he leaned forward and tenderly kissed her on the lips.

She didn't resist. When she pulled away, she said softly into his ear, "Be careful, Reno. And come back soon."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

'Meet the New Rival; same as the Old Rival'

_At the Turks' Tavern …_

Reno skidded his Porsche to an abrupt stop in front of the Turks' Tavern and got out of the car, grabbing his car keys from the ignition. He saw the four men he had summoned standing around with the bouncers outside. It minimizes suspicion, he supposed.

He leaned against his Porsche, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket and tapping one out. He hadn't smoked in weeks; he was trying to quit, but he found that every time his anxiety level rises up, the urge returns. He signaled for the men to approach him as he put the cigarette in his mouth and checked around in his pockets for a lighter or a match.

Finn informed, "He's in there. Just sitting and drinking by himself."

"Any of you got a light?" Reno asked.

The men glanced at one another, and shook their heads. Reno sighed and put the cigarette back into its pack, then shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, thanks, boys. You can pick up the checks from Rufus tomorrow morning. Fifty grand each of you." Reno nodded, signaling their dismissal.

"Yes, sir," they replied in unison, then promptly left.

After they left, Reno strode into the bar, nodding at the bouncers on each side of the entrance. A few of the patrons there acknowledged him, but Reno barely noticed. He saw Cloud almost instantly.

Sitting at the bar, Cloud had his back turned to him as he nursed a drink. He was alone, like Finn had said. Reno felt instant dislike bubbling inside him as he stared across the bar at Cloud. Then he walked over to the bar, sat on the stool next to Cloud, and signaled Anne, the bartender.

"The usual, please," Reno said to Anne. She left to fix his drink, and he went on, "You got some nerves showing up in here, Cloud Strife."

Cloud set down his drink, but he didn't glance at him. "You own the place?"

"Quite obvious from the name itself, isn't it?" Reno said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Doesn't say I'm not allowed in here, does it?" Cloud finally turned and looked directly at Reno. "Where did your four friends go?"

Reno stared back at him stonily. "Sent them back. They did their jobs."

Anne returned with Reno's drink, and Cloud picked up his glass, swirling the liquid lightly. "Not quite. If I were you, I wouldn't pay them whatever you're paying them. Spotted them while I was coming out of the hotel. Pretty amateurish for professionals."

Reno tilted his glass and emptied the glass in one shot. Then he set it back down on the bar top and leaned back against the bar a little. "Well, you see, Strife, I'm not you. I pay them to track you down, and they did." He signaled Anne for another drink. "So tell me, Strife – what the f*** are you doing here?"

Cloud didn't even so much as lifted an eyebrow. He looked at Reno, slightly amused. "Is that any of your business, Langley?"

"You bet your spiky ass it is. Let me tell you something, Strife; Rane doesn't need you to mess up her life again. You messed it up pretty damn good before, so why can't you just stay happy with that?"

"Why do you care? It's not like she's your girlfriend or anything," Cloud remarked.

Reno smirked smugly. "Is that so? Looks like you haven't been round in Midgar long enough yet, huh?"

Cloud stared at him expressionless as he finished his drink. He stood up and threw a few Gils on the bar top, saying, "You can fight me all you want, Reno Langley. We'll see who's left standing by the end of this. Have a nice night; or what's left of it." With that, he turned and left.

By the time Reno got home, it was almost three in the morning. The others had stopped drinking but as Reno passed by the lounge room he saw Rynn and Sephiroth watching TV. "Hey. Where's everyone?" Reno asked as he walked into the lounge room.

Rynn glanced over her shoulder. "Umm …if you're looking for Rane, she's taking a shower. Tseng and Elena are probably in their bedroom, and Rude, God knows what he is doing," she said, winking.

Reno grinned. "So Rane's not asleep yet?"

"Well, probably not. Why don't you go check up on her?"

Reno nodded and left the two lovebirds alone, heading up the stairs towards Rane's room. He knocked lightly on the door, and a few seconds later, she called him in. He opened the door and entered the room. The light was dimmed, but she was standing in front of the full length mirror brushing her damped hair. She was dressed in a pink robe, and she smiled at his reflection when he entered.

"Hey. Glad to see you're back in one piece," Rane said playfully.

"Of course." Reno came up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. "Why aren't you asleep yet? Were you waiting for me?" he asked slyly. "You were, weren't you?"

Rane flushed and hit him with the brush. "No, you silly twit. I was taking a shower."

"Damn. Why didn't you wait until I get home before showering?"

Rane rolled her eyes at him. "What for?"

Reno grinned lazily. "So I could take one with you, too."

"Reno!" Rane exclaimed, pushing him away and throwing the brush at him as she laughed. He caught the brush and set it back on her dresser, grinning.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Rane turned and went to her bed, turning on the night lamp. "You're unbelievable," she murmured, her face flushing.

Reno laughed as he went over and sat next to her, sliding an arm around her waist as he pulled her closer. "I was just joking." He kissed her cheek.

Rane shook her head, half-smiling as she turned to him and fingered his cheekbone lightly. "How's your nose?"

"It's fine. You cured it with your kiss, remember?"

Rane laughed. "Right. Does it still hurt?"

"Nope. But I don't want to think what kind of pain I would feel if I sneeze."

Rane smiled, patting his cheek lightly. "I'm sorry. I really can't believe I did it."

Reno leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. "It's alright. It's not like you did it on purpose."

"You should go back to your room. It's three in the morning," Rane said softly. "Get some sleep."

"Are you pushing me away?" Reno asked, pouting.

Rane giggled at his expression, then pinched his cheek. "No, silly." She smiled at him. "So did you get your job done?"

Reno looked at her for a moment. "What job?"

"Whatever that required you to run out at one in the morning," Rane replied in a joking tone.

"Oh, that. Uh, yeah, I got the job done," Reno said briefly. He hated lying to Rane; it made him feel like a jerk.

Rane touched his jaw line gently. "Did you beat up the guy good?" she asked teasingly, her eyes glinting mischievously.

Reno looked at her, shock hitting him like cold ice. Did Tseng tell her …? "What?" he repeated.

Rane smiled and tucked a strand of her damped hair behind her ear. "You know. Whoever you had to meet before." She said it with so much innocence and naivety that even as the relief washed over him, Reno couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt.

"Nah, what makes you think I went there to bash some guy up?" Reno asked playfully.

"Isn't that what you do for a living?"

Reno grinned. "We got promoted, remember? We don't do the dirty jobs anymore."

"Yeah, so instead, you sit behind your desks in the reconstructed Shinra building and give out orders to kill people," Rane teased lightly.

"Well …" Reno paused, thinking of what to say, but he couldn't come up with anything. "You're right. But …it's what we do. Because it's our jobs."

Rane looked at his suddenly somber expression for a moment, then put her arm around him, surprising him, and hugged him. "I was only joking, Reno. I don't care what you do for a living. As long as you're you," she said quietly, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "That's all that matters."

Reno glanced down at her, feeling a new warmth rising in his heart. _Does that mean you love me for who I am? _He wanted to ask, but he couldn't. His tongue and mouth muscles wouldn't allow him to. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek on top of her damped hair. "Do you really mean that?" he asked quietly, caressing her hair.

Rane was silent for a moment. Then she said in a voice barely audible, "Yes, Reno Langley. I mean it with all my heart."

_Early Friday morning …_

In the heart of the newly reconstructed Midgar controlled by Rufus Shinra's restored corporation, lie the rebuilt Shin-Ra headquarters and its heads of security's living quarters – the Turks' mansion. Rufus had the Turks' mansion fixed with a network of intercom system that uplinks to his office for easy access. Since the Turks' mansion was equipped with a sealed, soundproof private meeting room they christened the Turks' Oval Office, Rufus usually held meetings with them there instead of the main conference center in the headquarters.

At eight-thirty that morning, the intercoms in every corner and room of the house beeped a series of electronic sounds, then Rufus' voice came on, "All Turks, front and center to the Oval Office, now."

The first to awake was, as usual, Tseng. In less than fifteen minutes, he had awoken Elena, showered, dressed in his Turk uniform, and ready to go. He and Elena got out of their room just as Rude was walking out of his room and the first thing they realized then was that they were missing none other than the booze-filled, red-headed Turk. It wasn't surprising, though.

Tseng frowned and glanced at his watch. Rufus didn't like to be kept waiting. "Rude, Elena, you both go to the Oval Office first. I'll go get Reno."

When Rude and Elena went downstairs, Tseng went to Reno's room and knocked on the door.

After three persistent knocks and no reply, Tseng exhaled in exasperation, pulled out his ring of keys, selected the key that he recognized as Reno's, and inserted it into the door knob.

"Reno!" he called out gruffly, striding into the messy room.

It took Tseng more than a second to scan the mess, and realized that Reno wasn't within the mess that he called a bed. Groaning inwardly, he checked the shower and bathroom, but the room was empty. Tseng got out of the room, leaving the door wide open so that anyone else passing by the room can see how messy and chaotic Reno Langley's room was. He went around the hallway to the East Wing where Rane's room was.

He knocked on the door lightly, sure that she was still asleep, and a sleepy-looking Rane with half-opened eyes answered the door with a yawn. Remarkably, her long chestnut hair was still in place.

"Hey, Rane, sorry, but we got a meeting now and Reno's not in his –" Tseng began apologetically, but urgently.

"Oh, he's in here. Sorry." She moved away from the door and went back into her room, allowing Tseng to enter. "Reno," she called as she moved towards the bed where Reno was buried under the blanket, his red hair poking from beneath it like a fire hydrant. He didn't stir one bit. Rane sat on the bed and started shaking him. "Hey, wake up, lazy pig."

Reno stirred a little, but he still wasn't awake.

Over the intercom, Rufus repeated his announcement, "Turks, if you're not here within sixty seconds, you can bet that you'll be out looking for another job soon."

Tseng shook his head. "How did he manage to sleep through the first announcement?" he muttered. He glanced at Rane. "Did you hear it?"

Rane shook her head. "I was sleeping like a log. Had too much to drink last night." She smiled sheepishly.

Tseng chuckled, then went over the bed with a sigh, and yanked the blankets off Reno. Then he slapped the younger Turks' face hard enough to jolt him awake, but not too hard to leave a mark. Almost instantly, Reno awoke, but in a furious state. His blue eyes lost their sleep, replaced by anger, when he saw that it was Tseng.

"Tseng? What the f***? Why did you –" Reno snarled.

"Get up, Langley. We've got a meeting now. It's your fault you slept through the announcement over the intercom," Tseng snapped.

Reno quieted instantly, rubbing his face with one hand as he threw his long legs over the bed. He suddenly noticed that he was in Rane's pink-blue-and-purple decorated room, and looked at her, who was standing next to the bed. "Shit, man …I thought …I thought this was my room and someone cleaned it up and made it pretty," he muttered as he got up grudgingly.

"Come on, man, hurry up," Tseng urged as he started walking out of Rane's room.

Reno sighed loudly as Rane walked him to the door. "What kind of idiot would have a meeting at seven in the morning?" he muttered to Rane.

Rane smiled and squeezed his hand, then kissed him on the cheek lightly. "Go on, hurry up. I think you're going to get into trouble if you don't."

Reno shook his head discontentedly, bent over and pecked her on the cheek. "Be right back, sexy." He left the room and returned to his own room.

Rufus was standing at the large digital displaying screen, indicating at something on the screen with a red laser, when Reno walked in dressed in his rumpled Turk uniform. Rufus paused in mid-sentence when he saw Reno.

"Reno Langley. How nice of you to join us now," Rufus said with sarcasm in his voice.

Reno sighed and took a seat next to Rude. "Sorry. This better be good to drag me out of my girl's bed at seven-thirty in the morning."

"It's nothing good but trust me, it's bad enough," Tseng said grimly.

"Well, then, roll on the show."

Rufus resumed his talking. On the screen, there was a surveillance camera shot of a gigantic mega mall on First District, previously known as Sector 1, completely demolished to bits and pieces. The mall had been a huge attraction, between tourists and residents.

"As I was just telling the others before you interrupted," Rufus continued. "You can see here that this is First District's main shopping complex, Cosmic One. While you guys were busy getting pissed last night, we've got our first terrorist attack in Midgar since Cloud Strife and his gang bangers, and since the new Midgar was redeveloped. We have no idea yet, at this point, who is responsible, but take a look at this." He reached down and clicked a button on the panel beneath the screen. Another surveillance shot popped up, this time, a grainier picture of three roughly identifiable males dressed in similar black fitting outfits and same silver-colored hair.

"Whoa! Triplets," Reno remarked.

"Not quite. Observe." Rufus clicked a series of buttons on the panel. The image of the three men minimized to half the original size as a photo of Sephiroth appeared on the right. "These guys …are biological genetic clones of the legendary Sephiroth."

There was a short silence as everyone compared and marveled at the similarities between the three guys and Sephiroth.

"No shit. This doesn't sound like it's going to get better," Rude muttered.

"Well, that's why I summoned you guys. You've got to get out there and find these guys before they strike again. Our top intelligence analysts speculated that this won't be the first and last attack. For whatever reasons they've got, we can bet that they'll go on to Cosmic Two on Second District, all the way up to Eighth District. After that, they'll come after us. At the heart of Midgar, the Shin-Ra HQs. Then again, there's no way I'm even going to let them get that far. Four hundred people, including children, women, tourists, Midgarians, were crushed under the wreckage of Cosmic One. I'm not letting another four hundred die just because we can't do our jobs properly," Rufus said curtly, staring straight at Reno, who had propped his feet up on the desk whilst leaning back on his seat.

"Hey, don't look at me. I do my job properly," Reno protested.

"Rufus." Tseng leaned forward as he spoke. "You think Sephiroth has anything to do with this attack and these guys?"

Rufus perched on the edge of the meeting table. "I don't know. That's your job to find out. Also, I vaguely remember one of you telling me that Sephiroth is living right here, in the Turks' house, right now."

"He came with Rynn to visit Rane," Elena spoke up. "But if you're saying that Sephiroth has anything to do with the attack yesterday, I find that hard to believe. What are his motives for that? He's a changed person as far as I can see."

"I'm not venturing anything right now, but we have to be open to all options. Don't forget Sephiroth tried to destroy the Planet once; so what makes you think that willpower is completely gone?" Rufus asked.

Reno shook his head. "Even if he _is_ somehow linked to this, it doesn't make sense. What do you get out of blowing up one of our mega complexes? These guys who did it are trying to get our attention. They want something from us."

"Well, they sure got our attention. Now what?" Rude said.

"Now we bust their asses," Reno muttered.

"How? How do we find these guys again? It's not like they're going to be waiting for us outside the headquarters," Elena pointed out.

"So we need a lure," Tseng said slowly. "Reno, this is your expertise. Any ideas?"

Everyone turned to look at Reno expectantly. "Me?" Reno repeated. "Oh …well, I suppose we could increase the security in Second District and stake out the mega mall, if we expect them to attack there next."

Rude groaned. "Stakeout? Count me out."

"Yeah," Elena agreed doubtfully. "What if they never planned to attack Second District anyway?"

"Man, I don't know, okay? It's not like I'm psychic or something," Reno said stiffly.

"No, it's actually a good idea," Rufus interrupted, holding up a hand. "Even if they don't plan to attack Second District – if their initial motive was to get our attention for whatever reason, then we've got them. Once they know we're out of the center of Midgar, they'll probably come after us then."

"I don't get this. Why didn't they attack the center of Midgar – the Shin-Ra headquarters first?" Tseng asked thoughtfully.

Everyone was silent as they looked at each other. Finally, Rufus said in exasperation, "You know what? We'll just stick to Reno's plan for the time being, even if it's not showing much promise."

"Hey –" Reno protested. "Don't underestimate me."

"Okay, okay. Anyway, I'll gather a team for the stakeout. In the meantime, you guys should go to the mega mall – or whatever's left of it. Talk to the cops; see if you can find anything, any witnesses. Our street surveillance cameras can't really be relied on. Maybe someone saw these guys. Anything. Go get them," Rufus instructed as he stood up, indicating that the meeting was over. He saluted them, then disappeared through the bullet-and-soundproof door that led back to the Shin-Ra headquarters, leaving the Turks still sitting in the Oval Office.

"I don't think we need all four of us to go to the site," Reno said as he got up to his feet. "I think two of us would be enough to get the job done."

"Yeah, I was thinking …" Rude hesitated. "I've gotta go to the race tracks today, in final preparation for the event tomorrow. I know this is urgent and shit, but it'll only take a couple of hours, then I'll be back for whatever task you want me to handle," he told Tseng.

Tseng rubbed his jaw. "Well …frankly, I don't see the point of returning to the site of attack. I mean, I doubt these three guys are still going to be there. Also, I doubt anyone would've seen them. Just look at this surveillance shot." He gestured at the stilled image on the digital screen. "Out of the hundreds of surveillance cameras on the streets in First District, we only have one shot of them, and it's not even clear. These guys are professional; they won't risk being seen anywhere by surveillance cameras, let alone people. This is just one lucky capture. Anyway, here's what we can do. I'll drop by the site to look over, and you guys can lay low until something comes up. In the meantime, stay in contact."

Reno opened his mouth to say something, but he promptly forgot when he glimpsed through the one-way mirror as Rane entered the lounge room with Rynn who had a worried expression on her face. Rane was dressed in her combat outfit; a leather navy blue skirt with a black midriff and a pair of white boots. "What is she doing?" he muttered as he walked towards the door that led back to the lounge room and opened it. The others followed after him.

Rane was turning on the television with the remote control when she saw him.

"What's going on?" Reno asked her, glancing at Rynn, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest protectively.

"Sephy is missing. We don't know where he went," Rane said, biting her lower lip in concern. Reno exchanged glances with Tseng, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

On the television screen, an anchorwoman was monotonously reciting the tragedy that shocked Midgar as all six of them watched in grim. Rane lifted one hand to her mouth and inhaled sharply, then turned away from the screen and looked at the Turks. "What the hell is happening?" she asked, drawing her eyebrows together anxiously.

Tseng was the first to answer. He shook his head. "We don't know yet, at this point. We're going to find out," he told her.

Rane took a deep breath, then drew out her cell phone from her skirt pocket and dialed a number, edging away from them as she sought a little privacy for her conversation.

"Where did Sephiroth go?" Reno asked Rynn, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Rynn shook her head and exhaled. "I don't know. I woke up this morning and he's gone, just like that. His stuff is still here so I know he didn't run away. But he didn't leave any note and …it's just – not like him at all," she told him quietly, biting her lower lip.

Elena gestured at Rane's fighting outfit. "Where are you guys heading? She looks like she's dressed for some action."

"Yeah, sort of. We figured if we're going out to find Sephy, then we'd better be prepared for something," Rynn said grimly.

Tseng sighed. "Well, I'm going out, so you guys want me to drop you anywhere?" he asked.

"Drop us at the wreckage site on First District," Rane chimed in as she returned to them, closing her cell phone. "I want to start there."

Everyone looked at her in surprise, including Rynn. "Why? You think Sephy would be there?" Rynn asked, puzzled.

Rane shook her head. "He wouldn't be there, but it's too much of a coincidence that he disappeared on the same day the mega complex in First District blows up mysteriously," she said quietly, eyeing the Turks warily as if she knew they knew something more than they were letting.

"Aren't you going to the final preparation at the race tracks today?" Rude asked Rane.

Rane stared at him. "Oh no, I completely forgot about it," she said, groaning. "This is really not turning out to be a good day. I'll …go afterwards, I guess."

Rude nodded. "I'll wait for you."

Rane looked at Rynn, then at Tseng and the others, and nodded. "Come on, let's go."

They took Tseng's Audi; leaving Rude, Reno, and Elena at home. After a while of silence in the car, Rane said to Tseng, "Tell me who did this. And don't tell me you don't know, Tseng; we all know better than that."

Tseng was quiet for a moment as he concentrated on the road. "Three guys. Shockingly …they bore a striking resemblance to Sephiroth."

Rynn gaped at him from the backseat. She moved up between the driver and passenger seats. "Are you kidding?"

"I wish."

Rane was silent. "Clones of Sephiroth …" she said quietly. "Something's going on here. Someone else …is controlling this whole thing."

"Who is? Are you saying that Sephy is involved in this too?" Rynn asked, alarmed.

Tseng and Rane were both silent, and that agitated Rynn. She took a deep, shaky breath and slumped back in her seat. "There are too many coincidences. I'm not saying that Sephiroth is involved, but –" Tseng hesitated. "– there were no attacks like this before he came down to Midgar. He's only been here a couple of days, and now …" He paused. "Maybe these guys are trying to get him. I don't know. It's too early to jump to conclusions."

For the next few moments, the only noise was the low, sophisticated drone of the Audi's smooth, silent engine. Rane stared out the window at the passing scenery, musing deeply. She had a bad feeling about this whole thing, and after tons of experiences in situations like this, she had learned to trust her instincts more or less. Her instincts were usually what saved her.

"Rynn, you know Sephy best. Has he acted strangely in these past few days – before and after he came to Midgar?" Rane asked her sister, glancing over her shoulder.

Rynn chewed her bottom lip as she pondered. "I …I don't think so. He's been the same Sephiroth that I know all this time," she said softly.

Rane shook her head, saying nothing more as she rubbed her throbbing temples. It wasn't even ten in the morning and she already felt drained. They soon arrived at the rubble site. There seemed to be hundreds and hundreds of emergency vehicles surrounding the place, and smoke was still rising from the wreckage.

"Oh my God," Rynn breathed as they got out of the car after Tseng stopped about five blocks away from the site.

Tseng shoved his hands into his pockets and walked on. "Come on, girls."

When they approached the site which was barricaded by the yellow police tape and flanked by a guard of officers, Tseng simply nodded to them, and the officers allowed them into the site without any questions.

The site was a chaotic mess. Firefighters and police officers were all over the place, looking for survivors.

Tseng turned to Rane. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Something. Anything. Nothing in particular," she replied. "What was the cause of the explosion?"

"Most probably magic," Tseng told her.

"Blow up a whole complex with magic?" Rane asked doubtfully. "That would mean …they either have very powerful materias, or –"

"Or they're very powerful themselves," Tseng finished. He nodded. "Either way, they're dangerous and I can assure you, won't be easy to be defeated _if_ we eventually find them."

While they were talking, Rynn had wandered off. She returned to them carrying something in her hand. "Look what I found, guys," Rynn said as she held out her upturned palm to show them a shiny black orb.

"The Black materia?" Tseng said, shocked.

"Where did you get that?" Rane asked, pulling her eyebrows together.

Rynn looked at them, surprised at their reactions. "Um, back there. I was walking over all these wreckage and I saw something shiny on the ground. It was lying there underneath some broken concrete, so I picked it up. Why?"

Tseng and Rane glanced at each other.

"You were right," Rane said, biting her lip. "These guys –" She didn't finish her sentence. A flash of light so narrowly missed her head – that she could feel the heat and hear the whizzing as it zapped past her right ear. Her heart pounding, she whipped her head around and saw three silver-haired guys standing behind them, ready for attack.

"Rane, watch out!" she heard Tseng shouting, and the next thing she knew, one of them had drew out a long, thin sword similar to Sephiroth's Masamune, and leapt at her. Rane brandished her laser-blade and the relentless battle with the silver-haired guy began. She couldn't see Tseng and Rynn, but she knew they were fighting with the other two enemies.

Her opponent was remarkably powerful. Halfway in the middle of the sword battle, Rane put her laser-blade away and began fighting barehanded, using her martial arts skill instead. She threw a roundhouse kick with her left leg and the blow to her opponent's head caused him to falter a little bit. She took the opportunity to elbow him in the face, and throw a punch with her left fist.

But he was back on his feet in no time, and slashed his sword at her. She did a back flip, avoiding his sword, and when she regained her balance, she leapt forward with force, striking him with her fists.

Three loud, simultaneous beeping brought all three battles to a halt. As unexpectedly as they had arrived, the three silver-haired guys disappeared without another trace.

Rane lowered herself to the ground, breathing hard, exhausted from the tough battle.

"Shit. They took the Black materia," Rynn said angrily as she approached her sister with Tseng.

"What the hell was that all about?" Rane asked to no one in particular, struggling to catch her breath.

"I think they came to get the Black materia." Tseng crouched next to her. "You okay?"

Rane nodded, still breathing hard. Then she straightened and pushed her hair off her forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"They looked a lot like Sephiroth," Rynn said. "Who _are_ they?"

"Hojo," Tseng said suddenly.

"What?" Rynn asked, confused.

Rane glanced at him, her eyes narrowing. "Hojo's dead. You don't think he's still …" she trailed off.

"He may be." Tseng paused. "But …Hojo created Sephiroth. There's no reason why he can't create another or three other Sephiroth clones."

"But why?" Rane asked, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Why would he want to create these guys and get them to attack Midgar and us? What is it that he wants from us?"

"That's what we're going to find out," Tseng said firmly. "I have to go back to the headquarters. I'll take you girls back home."

He stood still as his blue-green eyes overlooked the view below. There wasn't much to look at; not anymore. He sensed a presence before he even heard the light falls of footsteps against the creaky floor of the church. He waited a moment, still staring out the window at Midgar beneath.

"How did you know I was here?" Cloud Strife turned away from the window and looked directly at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth looked back at him. "I can sense you, remember? Or have you forgotten that?" he replied, his voice low as he walked over to the window and stared out.

"They're looking for you. What are you doing here?" Cloud asked.

"I should be asking _you_ that. What are you doing in Midgar?" Sephiroth paused, glancing at him. "You and I both know that you didn't come here just to see Rane. You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

Cloud was silent for a moment. "No. You're wrong. The only reason I came back here is to see her again."

"What are you going to do, try and woo her back? You know no matter what you do now, you'll never get her back, Cloud Strife," Sephiroth told him quietly. "Then again, that's your personal matter. We've got something bigger going on here."

A long silence fell between them as they stood side-by-side staring out the broken window.

"You know what they're after," Cloud said, more of a statement than a question.

Sephiroth fell silent. Then he smiled mysteriously. "Sure. I've been expecting this."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

'A Pursuit to the Past'

_At the Turk's mansion, early Saturday morning …_

"We had a date last night."

Rane looked up from the magazine she was reading while eating her yoghurt and saw Reno walking into the kitchen dressed in a pair of pants and an unbuttoned blue shirt. The realization only dawned on her too late. "Oh no …I'm _so_ sorry I completely forgot about it, everything was in so much mess yesterday and Rynn was upset about Sephy, so I took her out to –"

"It's alright, I know where you went," Reno reassured, walking over to the cabinet and grabbing a glass. He opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of orange juice, and poured it into the glass.

Rane stopped, watching him carefully. Was it her imagination, or was he different this morning? She looked down at the yoghurt and stirred it with her spoon without eating. For the next few moments, the only sound in the kitchen was the noise he made while taking a bowl out of the cabinet, dumping a whole pile of cereal into the bowl, and then pouring milk all over it. Then he grabbed a spoon, took his bowl, and set it on the table. "Are you …mad at me?" she ventured tentatively.

"Mad? Why would I be mad at you?" Reno asked mildly as he started eating.

"Because …I forgot about our date last night?"

Reno didn't look at her, but he didn't say anything either. He seemed to have taken a sudden interest in his cereal.

Rane bit her lower lip, suddenly feeling as if she couldn't eat one more spoonful of yoghurt. She got up with an exhale, walked around the dining table, and perched next to him on the table. "Look, I'm sorry, Reno, I really am. I'll make it up to you – I promise."

"When are you going to start taking me seriously, Rane?" Reno suddenly asked.

Rane recoiled, shocked by the tone of his voice. "What?"

Reno reached into his pants pocket, pulled out something crumpled, and tossed it on the table next to her. "I thought you said you don't like keeping things that remind you of him," he retorted curtly.

A dull thud hit her chest as she realized what the crumpled piece of paper was. The letter that she had been holding the other day when she got into Reno's car after leaving the post office. Rane grabbed the letter and straightened up, her heart beating furiously. "Where did you get this?" she asked quietly.

"From your secret box where you kept all the reminders of him." Reno pushed the bowl of cereal away and stood up, finally turning to look at her. The look in his blue eyes frightened her, but she didn't show it. She was furious.

"That's right, my _secret_ box," Rane snapped, trying to control her voice. "How the hell did you get it anyway?"

"Believe it or not, it was purely by accident. I spent a whole night cruising the whole of Midgar looking for you the night you ran out of the Turks' Tavern, and when I got home, I thought I could talk to you. You were in the shower when I went into your room, and I sat down on your bed. It's like it was there to tell me something. My foot hit it when I sat down and I bent over to check, and – surprise, surprise." He wasn't even looking at her anymore.

"It wasn't there to tell _anyone_ _anything_," Rane snapped angrily. "You have no right to pry into my privacy, Reno."

"Did you think I want to find out like this?" Reno snarled at her as he slammed a fist down on the table. "God, you really think you can fool me, don't you, Rane?"

"What are you talking about?" Rane yelled.

"I'm talking about you, and your endless lies, Rane!"

"I never lied to you!"

"Right. You never told me that you didn't want to keep anything that reminds you of him. You never told me that the letter you were holding that day in the car was from Rynn instead of Cloud," Reno snapped, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I wasn't lying to you! I just didn't want you to know," Rane defended herself.

"How is that any different, Rane? Tell me, why are you leading me on like this?" he shouted back.

Rane stared at him, shock. "_Me_ leading _you_ on?" she fumed. "What _is _your problem, Reno? I never led anyone on, especially you! If anything, it's _you_ leading _me_ on!"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?"

Rane threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I don't know why you're getting all so worked up just because I forgot about the date last night!" she cried.

"Because you're never true to me, Rane! Why do you keep all these secrets about Cloud from me?"

"What happened between Cloud and me is none of your business!" Rane shouted defiantly. "It has never been, and it never will be!"

"Is that why you just couldn't tell me the truth?" Reno shouted.

"What truth?"

"That you still love Cloud Strife!"

"What?" Rane was stunned by what he had just said. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't even believe she was fighting with Reno. "What did you say?" she repeated.

"You do, don't you?" Reno asked quietly. "You've never stopped loving him. Not even when you're with me."

Rane stared at him, shocked by his words. She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe this." She turned on her heels and began storming out of the kitchen.

"If you're going to find him, you don't have to look far. He's already here in Midgar," Reno called out after her. "I hope you're both happy."

Rane stopped in her steps. When she turned around to face him, she felt an uncontrollable rage rising within her. She strode back towards him, and without thinking, slapped him across the face so hard, she could feel her hand tingling.

Reno didn't react for a moment. Then he turned slowly to face her, shock registering on his face.

"I thought you were different, Reno Langley," Rane said quietly, seething. "I was wrong." And with that, she turned around and fled from the kitchen.

"Well? Did you guys find it?"

The youngest of the silver-haired trio, Kadaj, shook his head. "Not yet. But …something's not right. I don't think it's the hands of only one person."

"What are you talking about? Only one person can hold on to it. Someone powerful enough."

"That remains to be seen." This time, it was the oldest of them, Loz, who spoke.

"Well, do you know who has it, then?" the controller asked impatiently.

The trio glanced at one another. Then the last one, Yazoo, said quietly, "Yes, we do."

_Later that afternoon, at the Midgar's Annual Grand Prix …_

_I can't believe Reno is such a jerk,_ Rane thought dolefully to herself. She was oblivious to the screaming crowd around her, lost in her own thoughts. She and Rude were fully dressed in their own racing outfits, waiting for the rest of the competitors to arrive. There were twelve of them altogether, and two were yet to arrive. Her sister and housemates were here, but she didn't know where they were in the crowd.

Rude was complaining, "Man, I don't want to wear this helmet. What if one of my fans in the crowd tries to take a picture of me, and she can't see my face because of this stupid helmet?"

Despite her gloomy mood, Rane couldn't help cracking a smile. "Please. As if such a person exists," she smirked.

"What are you trying to imply?" Rude asked dangerously.

Rane giggled. "Nothing. I was just joking." She nudged him. "Look at the Merc. If I win this race, we both get to take the Merc and your RX8 home."

"_You_ win?" Rude scoffed. "You wish. It's more like, if _I_ win the race, then we get both cars."

"Hey, we're partners in this competition, Rude, remember that!" Rane protested. "It doesn't matter who wins, as long as one of us do."

Rude grinned. "Remember what I said about you eating my dust? Well, get ready for that."

Rane glared at him, then hit him in the arm lightly. "We'll see about that."

There was a PA announcement over the speakers informing the ten drivers that the last pairs had arrived.

"Finally," Rude grumbled. "I thought we were going to grow old waiting here."

Rane laughed. "Come on, partner. Let's get the show on the road."

They put on their helmets, and the dozen of them went into the massive garage where all the sports cars that they would be driving were prepared and readily waiting for action. Rane saluted Rude, then went around and got into the sleek black Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren. She adjusted the seat, then put on the earpiece that she and Rude had planned to use during the ten-laps race so that they were in constant contact with each other, to watch out for each other.

"Rude, you still alive?" Rane asked as she pulled on the safety belt.

There was a slight static, then Rude's haughty voice came on. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Rane grinned. "Oh, nothing," she said innocently. "Hey, your Mazda RX8 actually looks much better than you do."

"Excuse me?" Rude said indignantly. "I happen to be a very charming, very handso –"

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for later, Rude-O." She laughed. "I was just kidding, by the way. I mean, kind of. Maybe only a little."

The twelve exotic sports cars slowly rolled out onto the tracks, one behind another as they prepared for the race.

"O-Okay. Now we're talking. Remember, Rane, in this race you'll only see me as a teeny speck in the distant far ahead of you," Rude snickered.

Rane rolled her eyes. "Quit dreaming, Rude. Just remember to watch my back."

A loud, long beep blared over the speakers, and the race had begun. Rane floored the accelerator, feeling the powerful droning of the engine kicking to life as she sped down the tracks. She had a good start ahead of the others, but there was a hot red Ferrari 911 Turbo Cabriolet in front of her.

"Hey, I'm right behind you," Rude's voice returned over the earpiece.

"Shut up, Rude, I'm concentrating," Rane said, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Okay, okay."

She finished the first lap still second in the race, with the same Ferrari a little bit ahead of her. Rane took a deep breath and gripped the wheels tighter.

"Hey, who the hell is in that Ferrari? He's taking on the show," Rude said.

"I don't know, but he sure is good. We better make sure he doesn't keep up this act for the rest of the race, Rude," Rane told him.

"Of course. You can count on me," Rude replied cheerfully.

They stopped talking for the next few laps. At one point during the fourth lap, Rane had pulled up close enough to overtake the Ferrari, but the driver had swerved slightly at a corner – whether on purpose or accidental, she didn't know – and they almost hit one another. Rane regained control of the car again, clenching her fists on the steering wheel.

"Shit!" Rude exclaimed over the earpiece. "What the hell you thinking? Don't go dying on me, Lockhart!"

"It wasn't my fault, he tried to hit me. Bastard," she muttered under her breath as she floored the accelerator.

"Be careful, Rane."

It wasn't until the eighth lap that Rane succeeded in overtaking the Ferrari, and began leading the race. She didn't slow down one bit, even while turning round the sharp corners, and soon, she calculated mentally, she was about four or five seconds ahead of the Ferrari.

"Hey, if I win this race, you're going to have to wash my car, okay?" Rane said.

"What? Why? I'm not washing anyone's cars except mine!" Rude protested huffily.

Rane giggled. "Oh come on. Don't be a spoilsport. Thanks!"

Before she knew it, the race was over. She had won the annual Grand Prix. As she started slowing down after touching the finishing line of the tenth lap, a group of technicians approached her car. She got out, shaking the hands of the technicians, and was greeted by a deafening roar from the crowd.

The runner-up arrived almost too soon after she did, and it was the Ferrari. "This I have to see," Rane murmured as she took off her helmet and tossed it into the car.

The third to pull up was Rude's Mazda RX8. When he got out, she ran to him and they hugged, whooping happily.

The guy over the PA announcement was shouting, "…Rane Lockhart, the hot Mercedes Benz 2004 SLR McLaren driver, as you can see, is not only the winner of this year's Midgar annual Grand Prix, but also the first female in history to ever win this race!"

"I can't hear myself thinking over this roar," Rane shouted to Rude.

"Neither can I. Come on. Let's go see who the guy is. Probably some little shit. I'm gonna beat the shit out of him for coming in before me," Rude complained to her.

Rane laughed at him, and they both walked over to the Ferrari. The driver was getting out of the car, shaking the hands of the technicians like she did before.

"Hey, I didn't shake those people's hands when I got out. Did you?" Rude asked.

"Sure I did. You're just not good enough." Rane laughed when he shot her a look.

They walked up to the driver and Rane extended a hand. "Congrats," she said to him.

He shook her hand, and then, with the other hand, unbuckled his helmet and took it off.

Everything seemed to slow down at once. Rane gasped. She could no longer hear the crowd's screaming. How could she have not noticed? She saw that Rude was also as stunned as she was. She took a step back, her breath coming out in low, rapid gasps.

The guy took a step forward and smiled a little.

"Congratulations, Rane," Cloud Strife said. "You won."

_Much later, after the competition was over …_

"When Reno told me you were in Midgar, I didn't believe him. I thought he was joking," Rane said quietly. She was leaning against the Merc which was already parked out for her to drive home.

Cloud, who was leaning on his own Ferrari, folded his arms across his chest and nodded lightly. "So, you didn't read them."

Rane looked at him. "What?"

"The letters." Cloud lowered his eyes and stared down at the pavement. "It was in the last letter that I sent you, I told you I'm coming to Midgar."

_Also the letter that Reno took …_Rane pushed the thought of Reno away and glanced at her ex-boyfriend.

"I tried, Cloud," she replied in a quiet voice. "I couldn't. I just wanted to move on without being hurt again."

A long silence fell between them.

Finally, Cloud said softly, "I'm sorry, Rane. I really am. You don't know what I would do to erase the mistake that I made."

It was as if opening an old wound that had already begun to heal. Rane felt tears gathering in her eyes. "Don't start, Cloud Strife. We've been through this."

"I know, but you never give me a chance to ask for you to forgive me," Cloud replied.

"I've already forgiven you, Cloud. Are you happy now?" Rane demanded. Then she immediately turned away, hating herself for being so emotional.

"Yes, I'm happy," Cloud said quietly. "But …what about us?"

"What about it? There is no _us_ anymore, Cloud."

"Don't you still love me?" Cloud asked.

Rane looked up at him, her eyes brimming with angry tears. "What do you think, Cloud?" she asked in a voice choked with tears.

Cloud gazed back at her. "Well …do you hate me then?" he asked quietly.

Rane stared at him, the tears beginning to flow down her cheeks. She wiped them with her fingers and turned away, averting his eyes.

_You do, don't you …you've never stopped loving him …_

_Is that true?_ Rane asked herself. _No. I can't think about him, or look at him without feeling like I want to cry. How is that love?_

"No," she wept quietly, pressing a hand to her mouth. "I can never hate you, Cloud."

Cloud gazed at her tenderly, then handed her a tissue as he edged closer to her. "Please don't cry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I've upset you."

"What are you doing here, Cloud? What is it that you want from me?" she whispered, still not looking at him.

He was silent for a moment. "I just came to find out if this is the end of us, Rane," Cloud finally said, his voice thick with emotions.

Rane slowly turned to look at him, her eyes sad. "What do you want me to say, Cloud?" she asked softly, a tear rolling down her cheek silently. "That I still love you and I would gladly take you back as if nothing ever happened?"

Cloud looked away. "In a sense, yes." He paused. "But I know …that it's impossible."

Rane took a deep, shaky breath and nodded desolately. "Yes. I think we …should just move on with our own lives. It would be better that way."

Cloud looked at her, the hurt visible in his eyes. "What sort of life would it be without you, Rane? I spent the last six years being in love with you. How do you expect me to move on without you?"

"Just like how you kissed Tifa that night without me," Rane said quietly. "You weren't concerned about how life would be like without me. You looked pretty contented to me. So I guess you'll live."

"That was one mistake, Rane. Okay, I admit it and I know it was stupid. I was stupid. But are you really going to make me pay for the rest of my life for one mistake that I made?" Cloud asked, taking a step towards her.

Rane threw her hands up. "It wasn't just a mistake, Cloud," she cried, crumpling the damped tissue in her hand. "You betrayed my trust, my faith in you, in our relationship. If you can't have enough faith in our relationship, why should we even bother?"

"Because I love you, and because I was drunk that night when she forced herself on me, Rane," Cloud blurted out.

Rane looked up at him.

Cloud looked away and exhaled. "I didn't want to tell you before because she's your cousin. She had been crying over the breakup with Vincent, and she had been drinking a lot. So did I. Then she just …" He trailed off. "Did you really think I would just walk up to her and kiss her, Rane?" He saw her doubtful expression. "I know. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to. After all, it's not like I mean anything to you anymore."

Hearing him saying those words was like having the protective barrier around her shattered. Her heart squeezed tightly as another tear rolled down her cheek. Part of her wanted to run to him and hug him tightly, to tell him that everything could be forgotten, that she still loved him, but another stubborn part of her held her back. The part of her that had feelings for Reno. She didn't know what to think anymore. She didn't know who to give her heart to; Reno or Cloud. She closed her eyes momentarily, and when she opened them, a new round of tears gushed down her cheeks.

"That's not true," she whispered. "I love you, Cloud. I love you like I've never loved anyone in my entire life, like I never, ever will. And you mean the world to me. But …how can I be sure that you won't do this to me again?"

"You know I won't, Rane. I vow that I will never do anything to hurt you ever again," Cloud said quietly.

Rane sniffed as she lowered her eyes to the ground, not saying anything, not wanting to.

"It's Reno, isn't it?" Cloud asked in a low voice.

Rane looked up at him, but she said nothing.

"Why him, Rane? Of all people …why Reno Langley?" Cloud asked in a bitter voice. "Does he love you as much as I do? Does he make you laugh?"

Rane stared at him as a tear rolled down her cheek. She swallowed back another wave of tears, and replied softly, "He doesn't make me cry."

Cloud stared at her, his eyes hurt. Then he turned away and nodded a little. "I guess …I just want to give you something then." He withdrew something from his pocket and held out his palm to reveal a familiar blue, shiny crane. "Remember this?"

Rane stared at the crane, feeling as if the last time she saw it was a thousand years ago. Tears brimmed her eyes despite her attempt to hold them back. "Of course I remember it," she said in a choked voice.

"I want you to hold on to it," Cloud told her, extending his hand and holding it out towards her.

Rane gazed at him, her heart twisting. "Why? I gave it to you. I wanted you to keep it," she said quietly.

Cloud lowered his eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly. "I know. I just want you to hold on to it until the time comes when you think you don't need it anymore …then you can return it to me." Cloud gazed at her, and it was in the heartbreaking look in his eyes that she understood the true meaning behind his words. _Although they're two different cranes …they come together as one …like our hearts …_

_That night, back at the Turks' mansion …_

Rynn knocked lightly on her sister's door. "Rane, it's me. Open the door, please." She had been standing outside Rane's door for the past five minutes, trying to get her to open the door and let her in. She could hear the sounds of her sister's muffled sobs through the door, and it was breaking her heart. You'd think that after winning the annual Grand Prix and being awarded a hot new sports car, she would return home happy that evening instead of looking as if she had come last in the race. She had gone straight to her room, and locked herself in there, not even bothering to come down for dinner. "Rane, sweetie, open the door." Rynn pressed her temples with both hands. Things weren't going very well lately. Seeing Cloud at the race had shocked not only Rane, but also Rynn herself and the Turks. And to make matters worse, Sephiroth wasn't here to support her.

"Here, use this," a voice said behind her.

Rynn glanced over her shoulder and saw Reno standing behind her.

He held out a key to her. "She's not going to open the door, so you might as well use this key," Reno said quietly.

Rynn looked at him, and saw his expression which broke her heart. _Why is it that Rane always so clueless about who loves her? _She managed to muster a faint smile as she took it from him.

"Thanks, Reno."

Reno nodded. "No problem." He glanced at the door, then turned away and walked off.

Rynn inserted the key into the door knob, unlocked it, and opened the door, stepping inside. She closed the door behind her and walked inside. Rane was lying sprawled on the bed on her stomach, crying into a huge stuffed Mog toy. Rynn felt her heart shattering at the sight of her sister looking so broken. She sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around Rane.

"Rane …it's okay, honey. Shh …"

Rane turned and sat up, still holding the soft toy. Her face was streaked with tears. Rynn pulled her sister into her arms and hugged tightly, rubbing her arms reassuringly. "I didn't mean to hurt him …" Rane said in a voice barely audible.

"Who?" Rynn asked gently.

Rane pulled away from her and looked at her, sniffing. "Who else do you think I mean? Reno?" she scoffed suddenly.

Rynn paused, searching her sister's face. "What's wrong with you and Reno?"

Rane sniffed, blinking back the tears. "Everything. He thinks I'm a liar and that I led him on," Rane said bitterly. "I don't even know what the heck he means by that. He took the letter that …Cloud wrote to me, and he got mad at me for not telling him that I keep letters that I receive from Cloud although I don't read them." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "All that just because I forgot about our date last night."

Rynn was quiet for a moment. "Why did you say you didn't mean to hurt Cloud, then?"

Rane opened her eyes as she pressed her chin on top of the Mog's head. She sniffed. "I just …I don't know what to do anymore, Rynn," she said softly. "He looked so dejected. I mean, this is the guy who was my best friend for four years before becoming my boyfriend." She paused, exhaling softly. "I still love him, Rynn." Tears filled her eyes again. "I know you must be thinking, how can I love him still if he's betrayed me like that? I don't have the answer to that either. All I know …" A sob escaped her throat. "Is that I miss him so much and I still love him."

Rynn gazed at her sister. "I know you do, Rane," she said quietly. "But …what about Reno, then?"

Rane didn't say anything for a long time. Then she reached over, grabbed the box of tissues on the night table and took one, wiping her cheeks. "There's nothing between me and Reno," she said softly. "Not anymore."

"I don't think so, Rane," Rynn replied.

Rane sat back down and stared at her hands. "How would _you_ know?" she finally asked.

"Because I saw his expression tonight, Rane. Believe it or not, he's taking this more seriously than you do."

"Whatever that means." Rane turned away. "I don't want to have to choose between two guys again, Rynn."

"But you can't run away from this, Rane. It's better to leave just one of them heartbroken, than the two of them," Rynn told her.

Rane's crystal blue eyes filled with tears. "I don't want to hurt Cloud, Rynn. I know he's wrong and everything, but …I don't want to punish him like this. It not only hurts him, it hurts me too." She paused, weeping quietly into her hand. "I don't know about Reno, though …he doesn't seem to care very much. Of course I care about him …I care about them both."

"So what do you want to do, Rane? You want to take Cloud back?" Rynn asked quietly.

Rane stared down at her hands for a long, long moment before replying. "I'm not quite sure of what I want anymore, Rynn," she said, very quietly.

Reno stood staring over the railings of the balcony, holding a bottle of beer between his left index and middle fingers, and a lit cigarette in his other hand. He took a swig of the beer, and closed his eyes tightly.

Part of him wanted to go to Rane's room and apologize about what he said to her this morning, but another part of him wanted just to jump off this balcony. Or just drown himself in booze. He raised the hand holding the beer bottle, and lightly touched his face where she had slapped him. He hadn't expected that, but he knew he deserved it. He had acted like a jealous jerk, and though he hated to admit, he knew it.

Reno exhaled in frustration, then took a drag on the cigarette. He was mostly frustrated with himself, and he shouldn't have brought it out on her. But the fact that she still allowed Cloud to be part of her life made him angry for some reasons. He knew he hadn't made it clear to her about their relationship, but he thought she would at least have taken him more seriously.

He pushed a lock of red hair off his face, and out of the corner of his eyes, he suddenly saw something moving. Reno glanced and immediately jumped back, startled. "What the –"

Rude was climbing over the low adjoining wall that separated their balconies. He was dressed in black and he looked like some sort of demented ninja.

Reno took a deep breath, his heart still pounding quickly. "What the hell are you doing, man?" he demanded, walking over to Rude and resisting the urge to kick him off the wall.

Rude jumped off the wall and straightened up. Then he scowled at Reno. "Man, I was knocking on your door. Are you deaf?"

Reno stared at him. "Does that mean you have to climb over the wall like some kind of lunatic? You freaking scared me, man."

Rude snickered. "Serves you right for not answering the door. What the hell you doing holed up in your room? It's Saturday night and everyone is in their own rooms; it's boring, man. We should be celebrating instead."

"So I'm supposed to entertain you?"

"Hell, yeah. I just won my own RX8! I've got two cars now …how cool is that?"

"Very," Reno said sarcastically.

"You don't sound very enthusiastic about it," Rude implied. "Never mind. So, what up with you, my man?"

Reno glowered at him before turning away. "Don't even ask," he muttered.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Reno nodded glumly, but said nothing.

Rude sighed. "Man, I don't get why you just can't tell her how you feel."

"It's not that easy," Reno snapped. "How the hell do you expect me to tell her that I love her if she's still stuck on that blond spiky jerk?"

"Why not? You should've done it before he returned. That would've been easier."

"Yeah, well, thanks a lot for the advice, man," Reno snapped cynically.

"Look, Reno, just be a man about it. If you love her, go for it. Tell her how you feel; who cares if Cloud is here or on the other side of the world? It's not like she's back with him already. _Yet._ You still got a chance," Rude said. "For the time being. Because who knows what would happen next between her and Cloud?"

Reno stared out at the driveway beneath that his balcony overlooked. "It would be worse if I told her I love her, and got rejected," he said finally. "I don't want to have to face that. You think I don't want to tell her how I feel? I can't. Besides, I think she hates my guts now."

"Why?"

"Because …" Reno hesitated. "Because we …fought. This morning. I was being a jerk to her," he responded dejectedly.

Rude shook his head, exhaling. "You're an idiot, you know that, Reno?"

Reno nodded. "Yeah. I know that."

"You better go apologize to her."

"She'll probably kick me out of the room."

Rude rolled his eyes. "Okay, well …how about this. I'll talk to her first. _Then_ you confess."

Reno looked at him doubtfully. "_You?_ Why should I let you talk to her?" he scoffed.

"Because –" Rude turned and faced Reno. "– for the first time in your miserable life, I'm going to set things right for you, Reno Langley," he said.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

'Get it Over With'

_At the Turk's driveway, next to the garage, Sunday midday…_

"How kind of you to volunteer to clean my new shiny Merc," Rane said, stifling a giggle. She was sitting on the back of her convertible, her feet propped on the back seat, enjoying the sight of Rude holding a cloth and a water hose, a bucket of soap water next to his feet.

Rude glared at her as he scrubbed the hood of the car. "See how nice I am. You should feel guilty instead of sitting there like a princess and gloating," he said glumly.

Rane laughed instead. "Oh come on. You lost our bet fair and square."

"What bet?" Rude glowered.

"Our bet! I told you if I win, you'll have to wash my car, and you agreed," Rane said cheerfully.

"I never agree to any bet with you!"

"Yes, you did."

Rude shook his head, but he went on scrubbing the car instead. "No way," he mumbled. "The last bet I remember making was with Reno." He started snickering at the memory.

Rane lifted an eyebrow. "With Reno?" she said.

Rude nodded. "Oh, yeah. He lost, fair and square. What a dumb ass." Then he stopped and looked at her. "Wait. I'm not supposed to tell you. You're …Rane," he said, as if realizing for the first time that she, Rane Lockhart, had been sitting there talking to him all this time.

Rane rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm Rane. No, really, I'm curious. What is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Rude suddenly seemed to be very interested in soaping her car. "Uh …nothing."

"Rude!"

Rude groaned. "Reno will kill me!"

"At least that will be after. If you don't tell me now _I'll_ kill you first."

Rude looked at her and gulped. "Uh …"

Rane folded her arms over her chest and stared at him expectantly. "Well?"

"Would you like ten mastered All materias instead? I've got them in my room; really, they're just awesome. You could sell them all and be a millionaire and we don't have to worry about this silly lit –" Rude gave a nervous laugh.

"Rude!" Rane jumped out of the car and walked over to him menacingly, glaring down at him. "You've got five seconds to start telling me, or I'll bash you up."

"Man, you're scary," Rude complained, edging away from her and holding up his soapy hands protectively in front of him as a shield.

Rane just stood her ground and stared down at him.

"Okay, okay," Rude said, giving up. "Man, Reno'll kill me."

"I don't care what Reno does to you; I'll live."

Rude gave her a pitiful look, then sighed. "Okay. Before I start, just remember that this was like, ancient story."

"Really? So when did it happen?"

"Um …back when we're in Balamb."

"That was only what – less than four months ago," Rane pointed out.

"Okay, whatever, but see, my point is, that was before we all even knew each other. Um, remember at the SeeD orientation day?"

Rane looked at him. "Of course," she said slowly. "That was …when I found out that Reno was my instructor. Of all people."

"Yeah, anyway …um, I was there too, and you were talking to him when I approached. When you left, we uh …talked a bit. About um …you. He was being arrogant, and I told him …I uh …bet that um …"

"What?" Rane prodded impatiently.

Rude gulped. "I told him I bet ten mastered All materias he can never get you to like him and out on a real date with him," he said hastily, rushing his words into one another.

Rane stared at him, shocked. "You _what_?"

"That's not the point! Besides, Rane, he – he called off the bet after you guys returned from the SeeD exam, and that's all," he added hurriedly.

"No, wait. Did he give you the ten mastered All materias?" Her stare was weighing down on him.

Rude cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, yeah, uh-huh. He um, gave them to me. When he called off the bet."

"Why did he call off the bet?"

"How the heck should I know? He probably knew he couldn't pry you away from Cloud Strife!" Rude blurted out.

Rane stared at him wordlessly. Then she shook her head. "I can't believe you two. Of all the lowliest –" she glared at him.

"Rane, that was before we even knew you. Anyway, we're all happy living together now, right? So let's just forget about the past."

"No," Rane snapped. "You'll better be prepared, Rude, because after I'm done with Reno, I'm coming back after you." She turned on her heels and began striding back into the house.

Rude felt his blood running cold. "No, wait! Rane!" he wailed, knowing that the days of his life were going to be over soon.

Reno yawned as he pushed open the balcony door to let in the warm breezy air into his room. He turned back and went to the closet to grab his clothes. The breeze felt cool on his freshly showered skin as he took off the towel that was wrapped around his waist, and pulled on a pair of boxers. He grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt, closed the closet door – and promptly stumbled back, startled. "What –"

Rane was standing right there in his room, glaring at him. She looked as if she was about to kill someone. Reno took a deep breath, wondering what it is with his housemates and creeping up to other people lately. He looked at her. "Uh …can I help you?" he ventured.

Rane smiled slowly and held out her closed hand. "Here, I forgot to give you this."

Reno looked down at her fist curiously. "What?"

Without warning, Rane pulled back her fist and punched him in the cheekbone.

"Ouch!"

Rane stood there, hands on her hips, waiting for him to compose himself. Reno took a deep breath and finally straightened up, glaring at her.

"That hurt!" he snarled, gingerly fingering his nose.

"Good! It was mean to," she shot back.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For treating me like dirt!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the stupid bet that you made with your so-called buddy Rude!" she snapped, her blue eyes lit with anger.

Reno opened his mouth to say something but he couldn't think. The first thing that came to his mind was, _How the hell did she know?_ He stared at her, mouth agape. "Um, that was ancient history."

Rane took a threatening step closer. "No, it isn't. So all this time, you've been living yourself in a lie. Are you happy with yourself that you managed to break Cloud and me apart?" she cried.

"Hey, I never did anything to you both!" Reno protested defensively. "That was his own fault!"

"How dare you make a dumb bet like that! Did you think that I'm some sort of an object that you can bet on?" Rane snapped.

"It wasn't my idea, it was Rude's!"

"But you accepted it!" Rane shouted. "Stop blaming other people and look at yourself for once, Reno Langley!"

"I _am_ looking at myself! I'm standing in the middle of my room wearing my boxers arguing with you first thing Sunday morning about something that I've long forgotten!" he shot back.

"Was this what our whole relationship based on, Reno? Lies and deceit? You called me a liar, but God knows who the real liar _and_ hypocrite is here!" Rane yelled.

"I never lied to you!" Reno protested angrily. "I just didn't think you would care to know!"

"Why wouldn't I? I trusted you!" Rane shouted heatedly. "I really thought you were a different person, Reno! How could I have been so blind?"

"That's right! _You're_ blind! Blind to everything around you, except Cloud Strife!" Reno yelled back.

Rane recoiled as if he had slapped her. "This has nothing to do with Cloud. This is between you and me!"

"You're damn right it is! So why is it that you can never let go of Cloud and just be with me?"

"Because you're a liar! How can I ever trust you now?"

He let out an exasperated groan. "For the umpteenth time, I _never _lied to you. I didn't tell you because I don't see the point of doing that!" Reno said angrily. "The bet meant nothing. That's why I called it off before anything even happened between us!"

"You called the bet off because you _thought_ that you couldn't pry me away from Cloud!" Rane screamed.

"God, you're impossible! I called off the bet because I fell in love with you, Rane Lockhart!" Reno screamed back.

Rane stared at him incredulously. To his horror, her crystal blue eyes filled with tears. Then she slapped him.

"Ouch! Again!" Reno cried, his hand flying up to his cheek. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"Love isn't what you think it is, Reno!" she yelled, a tear rolling down her cheek. "What does a womanizer like _you_ know about love? Real love isn't sleeping around with a different woman every night!"

This time, Reno recoiled from her words. He stared at her, hurt. Out of all the hundreds of reactions he had anticipated, this was definitely not the reaction he had expected. "I know more about love than you think, Rane," he shot back.

Rane stared at him, tears streaking her cheeks. "You think this is a game, don't you?" she asked quietly. Then she lowered her eyes, shook her head, and started to turn away. "Everything's a game to you, Reno."

Reno reached out and grabbed her arm. "No, I don't think this is a game," he said forcefully, seriously. "I take our relationship more seriously than you think. All those times that I hugged or kissed you – did you think I was playing or just fooling around? You want to know how I know it's love? It's what I feel whenever I look at you. It's the feeling that I get whenever you smile at me. Have you ever felt like your heart's squeezing so hard you can't breathe? That's how I feel when I found out about the letters. I couldn't breathe."

Rane still wasn't looking at him, but she didn't pull away nor say anything.

Reno went on quietly, "It's not hard to mistaken this feeling for love, Rane. Maybe I didn't know what it was, but I do now. I love you; what's so hard to believe about that?"

Rane didn't respond. Then she slowly turned to face him, her eyes glistening with tears.

Reno gazed back at her, and said quietly, "You don't have to say anything. I just …I just want to know something. That's all. Then …I'll …leave you alone."

Rane glanced away, sniffling. "What?" she asked in a soft voice.

Reno hesitated, looking over her head as he felt his heartbeat accelerating. He wanted to ask the question although he knew deep in his heart that the answer would break his heart. "Do you still love Cloud Strife?"

At the mention of his name, Rane gazed at him. Then she turned away and closed her eyes, letting a few tears slipping beneath her eyelids on onto her cheeks. Finally, when she spoke, her voice was barely audible. "I don't know, Reno. I don't …know."

He would never understand how his heart could be broken in so many places. He let go of her and looked away. He couldn't think of anything else to say; not with the feeling of his broken heart weighing him down like a ton of bricks.

"I'm sorry, Reno." Rane turned away and left his room without another word as she felt another wave of tears threatening to burst out of her.

Rane burst out of the house, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wished she could get the image of Reno's hurt expression out of her head, but she couldn't. She stormed towards her car, where Rude was wiping it dry with the cloth in his hand.

He turned and jumped a meter back when he saw her, as if preparing himself for whatever she had in mind for him. Then he saw her expression and stopped. She didn't look at him as she went around the car and got into the driver's seat, taking out the keys from her shorts pocket.

"Hey – where are you going? I'm not done with it yet," Rude protested, eyeing her warily. This was worse than if she had stormed out with a knife in her hand chasing after him instead.

"Leave it," Rane replied, sniffing. She started the car, and the next thing he knew, she was pulling out of the driveway and speeding off, the engine roaring, leaving Rude standing there in the driveway with a damped cloth in his hand and a bewildered expression on his face.

A second later, Reno burst out of the house, slamming the door behind him. He was half-dressed in a pair of pants and nothing else. When he saw Rude, his blue eyes glazed over with fury. He strode over to him.

"What the f*** did you think you were doing?" Reno shouted, throwing his hands up in the air angrily. "Why don't you just announce to the entire world every dirty little detail that you know about me?"

Rude took a step back and held out his hands in front of him. "Look, man, calm down. It was – it just slipped out of my mouth."

"Oh, really? Well, you know what? I'm just going to make sure that nothing is ever going to come out or go into your mouth for the rest of your life!" Reno snapped, raising a balled-up fist.

"Hey! Langley, if you hit me, I'm going to hit back, and I definitely don't want to start a fight right now!" Rude protested.

Reno lowered his fist and in return, kicked the bucket of soapy water hard instead. Soapy suds splashed over the driveway as the bucket rolled away. "Why did you tell her?" he snapped.

"Look, Reno, it was an accident. I didn't mean it."

"So much for setting things right! I should've known you better, Rude," Reno muttered.

"I'm sorry!" Rude apologized. Then he peered at Reno. "What did you do to make her cry?"

Reno let out an exasperated exhale as he dropped to a crouch and buried his hands in his face. "I f***ed up. I don't think she's ever going to talk to me again."

Rude frowned. "Why? What did you do this time?"

"Nothing! I told her I love her, and she slapped me!"

"She slapped you?" Rude repeated incredulously. When Reno didn't reply, he sighed. "Okay, look, you two have to stop shouting at each other and make up."

"How can I make up to her when she won't even let me?" Reno shook his head dismally. "Besides …she still loves him."

Rude fell silent. "No …I think she loves you, Reno."

Reno looked up and glared at Rude. "If she loves me, why did she slap me when I told her I love her?"

"Probably because she doesn't believe you, Mr. I-Bring-Home-More-Chicks-In-a-Night-Than-You-Do-In-a-Month," Rude mocked.

"But I was being serious. Why wouldn't she believe me?"

Rude shook his head. "Man, when are you going to learn? She thinks you tell every woman you kissed that you love her. Why would she believe you?"

"Because I do love her. Besides, it's not like I even so much as look at another girl when I was with her," Reno pointed out.

"You have to prove that to her, not me," Rude said dryly.

Reno sighed, closing his eyes as he touched the bridge of his nose lightly. It was healing fast, but his heart wasn't. "Did you see where she went?"

"No, man. She just ran out and jumped into the car and took off," Rude told him.

"What am I going to do now?" Reno asked, shaking his head.

"I'll answer to that."

Reno and Rude turned to see Tseng approaching them, wearing his full Turk uniform. "We've got some work to do, boys. I suggest you both go get changed, and then meet me in the lounge room," Tseng instructed.

"Don't tell me we're staking out Second District," Rude groaned.

Tseng nodded. "Something like that. Rufus needs us there to keep an eye on things."

"Great," Reno muttered, straightening up. "Just what I need right now."

"I got her."

Loz glanced at Kadaj, who was looking down at the streets of Midgar. "Where?"

Kadaj gestured. "She's alone. Driving." He looked up at Loz and Yazoo. "Think we should stop her?"

Yazoo nodded shortly. "Let's go get her."

"No, wait." Loz narrowed his eyes. "Sephiroth is close by. If we attack her now he'll sense us. We don't want that to happen just yet. Let's wait a while longer."

_Outside Cosmic Two, Second District …_

"I don't see any abnormal activities going on," Reno complained into his earpiece as he looked around, bored, at the citizens passing by. "Everything seems fine to me." He was sitting in his Porsche, waiting for something to happen.

"Hey, it was your brilliant idea to have a stakeout," Rude pointed out. "So don't complain."

"I didn't think Rufus was really going to make us do it. What a cruel way of punishing us."

"Rufus wanted us to watch this place because he said there's a high possibility that they are here," Tseng said, interrupting their insignificant talk.

Reno blew hair off his forehead and exhaled. He glanced around the streets, not really looking for anyone or anything. He really didn't think the three guys would show up here. He had suggested that only to get them off his back. He didn't think Rufus was that dumb to listen to him. "Oh, hey, I think I spotted one of them!" he exclaimed.

"Where?" Rude's voice came over the earpiece.

"Wait – oh, sorry, it was just an old guy with white hair. I couldn't see properly." Reno snickered. "He looked like one of them, though."

"Langley, if you're not going to say anything meaningful, keep the line clear, okay?" Tseng said firmly.

"O-Okay, sirree." Reno chuckled to himself, then kicked back and relaxed, yawning. It was going to be a long day.

_Along the freeway between First and Second District …_

Rane knew something was wrong before she heard the roars of motorcycles behind her. She glanced in the rear view mirror, and unsurprisingly, she saw two black motorcycles mounted by two of the silver-haired men.

"What do you want this time?" she muttered, taking her eyes off the mirror and glancing back at the road. Another half a mile and they would be entering the city area in Second District. She didn't want to cause havoc there. Apparently, neither do they. The guy on her left sped past her, and zipped right in front of her car.

Rane's heart skipped a beat as she swerved to avoid colliding with the motorcycle, and at the speed she had been traveling, caused the Merc to spin wildly out of control. She floored the brakes and gripped the steering wheel hard. The car skidded to a wild stop on the side of the freeway, and so did the two motorcycles.

Rane leapt out of the car, her heart pounding, as the two silver-haired guys began attacking her. Since she didn't have any weapons or materias, she was forced to rely on her fists and legs. She rolled off the hood of the car and kicked one of them in the face, in return receiving a blow to her cheekbone from the other. Rane gritted her teeth in pain, but she knew she couldn't give up now. The cars passing along the freeway were rapidly slowing down, some even stopping to watch.

Rane did a double kick at the one with shorter hair, then drew her fist back and punched him in the face as hard as she could before she was grabbed from behind by the other guy.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, then, using the guy in front of her as support, she hoisted herself up and flipped backwards and out of the other guy's grasp.

Rane regained her balance, breathing hard, and found herself facing two of them, both with their swords out this time. _Oh no._

"Turks, we've got visual, down at the freeway between First and Second District," Tseng's urgent voice awoke Reno's slumber. "There're witnesses saying that two silver-haired guys are attacking a girl."

"What?" Rude exclaimed. "Who is it?"

"I don't know. Come on, move your asses!"

Reno yawned, geared up the Porsche and sped down the road in the speed of light, flooring the accelerator. As he approached the freeway, he could see three other cars – belonging to the other Turks, also approaching. "Shit, Reno, it's a black McLaren," Rude said grimly.

All the four cars swerved to a stop before the two black motorcycles and the Mercedes Benz. From where he was, Reno could see Rane skillfully fighting two of the silver-haired guys. She was a powerful fighter, but so were they, and they both had swords and the two of them. They had more advantages over her. She did a jumping kick at one of the guys, and elbowed the other.

"Yaz! Test her!" the one with shorter, chin-length hair, shouted at the other as they saw the Turks running to them.

The other nodded, and without warning, slashed his sword down on Rane's arm. "Hey!" she cried. "Ouch!"

"Get them before they can get away!" Tseng shouted. But the two guys were already jumping onto their motorcycles, and speeding away. "All units, call in air support for pursuit on two black motorcycles moving southeast towards Second District!" he said into the earpiece.

"Rane!" Elena exclaimed. She was the first to get to her. "Are you alright?"

Rane nodded as she perched on the hood of her car, holding her arm. She was trying to catch her breath, her face flushed with exertion. Blood was gushing from the long, deep cut on her arm.

"Oh, shit, you're losing a lot of blood," Rude said. "Who has Cure here?"

"I do," Tseng said, moving towards her with Reno.

There was blood on her thigh, some on her shorts, and her left hand was drenched in blood. Tseng reached out and started to put a cure spell on her arm, but Reno stopped him.

"Wait!" Reno said urgently, staring at her arm. "Look, guys!"

As everyone stood watching, the deep gash on her arm was gradually closing, healing up. Elena gasped. "Rane …w-what's happening?" she stammered.

The stunned expressions on the Turks' faces were no match in comparison to the way Rane was feeling. Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down. Before her own eyes, the wound was healing up. "Oh my God," Rane breathed, her heartbeat accelerating to a mile per second. She understood now. What the three silver-haired guys were looking for. The short-haired one had told the other to 'test her'. The realization that dawned in her was like a pile of bricks sinking into the river. Now she was sure that Sephiroth's disappearance had something to do with the three guys. And whoever who was manipulating them. She felt the blood running cold in her veins.

"Rane," Elena was calling her. "Are you okay? You look really pale."

Rane glanced down at her arm, and saw that the skin on her arm was smooth as ever. No cuts, no bruises, nothing. It was smooth as ever. Except for the blood. She stood up, suddenly feeling dizzy and nauseated. "I – I have to go," she stuttered numbly as she made her way back to the car.

"Rane, wait!" It was Tseng. "Wait, you – are you sick?"

Rane looked at him, not knowing how to answer. Clearly they were all as shocked as she was. They looked as if they had just seen a ghost. She might as well have been one. "I don't know, Tseng. I have to go …find out."

"I'll come along," Reno ventured, his expression serious.

Rane turned back and looked at him for a long moment, then nodded shortly. "We have to go back to the house."

_At the Turks' mansion, later …_

Reno's Porsche pulled up into the driveway a second after Rane got out of her car. She waited for him, then they both ran into the house.

"Rynn!" Rane called out, her heart beating nervously as she started to run up the stairs towards the guest room.

"I'll check down here," Reno said.

Rane nodded, then hurried upstairs. All the eight rooms were empty, and so was the sunning room. She was nowhere to be found. "Oh no, please," Rane whispered. "Rynn, come on." But Rynn wasn't anywhere to be found. She ran downstairs and promptly bumped into Reno.

He shook his head. "She's not here, Rane."

Rane lowered herself to the first step of the stairs, dizziness overcoming her. "Rane, what's wrong?" Reno asked, his voice full of concern as he held her.

Rane's eyes filled with tears. "They took her." She took a deep breath. "When I was fighting with two of them, the other one came and got her. It …It was a distraction, so that they could …" she didn't finish her sentence. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Why didn't I think of this before?"

Reno wrapped his arms around her. "Rane, listen to me. It's not your fault."

Rane leaned her head against his shoulder. "Reno …I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Reno drew his eyebrows together. "Why are you apologizing for?" he asked gently.

"Because …I don't want to hurt you. But …" When she lifted her head and gazed into his eyes, there was a renewed look in her eyes that reached out and touched him. "I have to find Cloud." She placed a hand on his cheek, her eyes watering. "And …I don't want you to have to wait for me, because …I don't know if I will be back. Please …don't wait for me."

Kadaj stood over Rynn and nudged her foot with his.

"Hey. Get up."

A groggy Rynn rolled over her side, and sat up dazedly, glancing around her unfamiliar surroundings that looked a lot like a cell. Her eyes instantly cleared over when she saw the three guys standing over her.

"Come on. Get up," Kadaj said impatiently, nudging her again.

"Hey!" Rynn complained. She got to her feet and glared at them. "What is this? What am I doing here?"

They ignored her. Kadaj nodded to Loz who stepped forward and grabbed her arm roughly.

"We've got work to do," Loz said curtly, promptly dragging her forward.

"Ouch! Let go of my arm, you moron!"

"Shut up!" Kadaj snapped. "You so much as even sneeze, I'll kill you."

Rynn glared back at him. "F*** you!" she snarled.

Kadaj slapped her across the face. "Kadaj!" Loz exclaimed, horrified, still gripping Rynn on the arm as she regained her composure.

"Take her away!" Kadaj snapped. He tilted his head and gestured for Yazoo to follow Loz and Rynn. "Go with Loz. Get the sample from her and test it, then put her back in here."

"Let go of me!" Rynn yelled, struggling relentlessly although she was weakened by the drugs they had injected into her.

Kadaj continued to Yazoo, "If she's positive, keep her here. If she's not, don't let her go either. We can use her as leverage."

Yazoo nodded. "Right." Then he went after Loz, leaving Kadaj alone in the cell where they initially kept Rynn.

"Help!" he could her Rynn screaming to no avail, as Kadaj walked out of the cell and towards a window with a widening smirk. _The Ultimate Sphere …it will be ours soon._


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

'The Secret of the Ultimate Sphere'

_On the other side of Midgar …_

Rane walked up towards the two tall, lean figures, shadowed by the palm trees. The sea breeze lightly fluttered her chestnut hair as she walked. She stopped, turned to face them, and said quietly, "Tell me."

Sephiroth and Cloud smiled at her.

"Hello, Rane," they said in unison. Standing side by side next to each other, Rane never noticed how identical they looked, how similar.

"What do you guys have in mind?" she asked.

"We gotta get Rynn back, of course," Sephiroth said, half-smiling. "But …" his expression turned serious.

"In order to do that …we need the six of us here. You gotta get Lynx and Seifer to get down here as quick as possible," Cloud finished for him.

Rane looked at them both, then she gazed out into the open sea. "It's too risky," she said softly. "With the six of us here …the chances of them getting the full sphere are higher."

"Also with all our powers, we're more likely to defeat them," Sephiroth pointed out. He nodded at her arm where one of the silver-haired guys had slashed her. "You feeling better now?"

Rane took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. "I was …so freaked out. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked accusingly.

"Because that would have freaked you out even more, and you wouldn't even have accepted it," Sephiroth explained with a smile.

"It's better if you found out yourself," Cloud said.

Rane shook her head. "I felt nauseated. It's like I'm transforming into some kind of alien." She paused. "Tell me about the Ultimate Sphere." She still couldn't believe she had accepted the portion of the Ultimate Sphere that Sephiroth had offered her and her friends without knowing the first thing about it.

"Remember Professor Gast?" Cloud asked her, tapping the tip of his sword on the soft sand.

Rane nodded. "Aeris' father," she said, remembering.

"Yeah," Sephiroth replied. "The Ultimate Sphere was created by Gast. That was during the old war between Wutai and Midgar, even before Hojo had his brainstorm idea to create me."

"Gast thought if he couldn't make a powerful human, he might as well invent something that could _make_ a human powerful," Cloud continued in a quiet voice, the breeze carrying his words away. "And he did. He invented the Ultimate Sphere. With the birth of the Ultimate Sphere came the existence of the three grants."

"The first grant; the person who possesses the Ultimate Sphere will have a dose of immortality," Sephiroth said.

"The second grant; the person who possesses the Ultimate Sphere will be susceptible to unimaginable power and strength beyond human's ability," Cloud went on.

"And the third grant …" Sephiroth paused. "Says that the person who possesses the Ultimate Sphere will be transformed …and no longer be human. So to speak, that explains why your wound healed right in front of your eyes. And that's only one of the features."

Rane's mouth fell open in shock. For a moment, she couldn't speak. "Oh my God …" she breathed in disbelief, stunned. "You …you're saying that …we're …not humans?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Cloud smiled a little at her reaction. "Yes. That's what we're trying to tell you. Rynn, Lynx, Seifer, you, Sephiroth, and me …we're all bonded forever by the powers of this sphere."

"You want to know more?" Sephiroth asked Rane, who looked as pale as a ghost. Despite her shock, she nodded. He went on. "After Gast invented the Ultimate Sphere, Hojo created me. I was his most successful experiment – after all, more powerful than he could ever imagine, more dangerous that he could ever expect, more menacing than he could ever unleash. They both decided that with someone like me on the planet, they didn't need me finding out about the Ultimate Sphere. It was risky; they couldn't imagine what happen if I got hold of the sphere. So they buried it in Mount Gaea on Spira."

"But Hojo was stupid," Cloud continued quietly. "He went out of control, and experimented on me what he experimented with Sephiroth. Of course …that was a mistake."

"Either of us could destroy the entire planet if we had wanted to, as easily as that," Sephiroth said, smiling mysteriously. "As a matter of fact …I almost did."

Rane shook her head. "That was history, Sephy."

"Anyway, the point is, we think Hojo knew one of us got hold of the Ultimate Sphere. What he doesn't know though, is that the Ultimate Sphere could be separated. So he's pretty much clueless. He thinks I have it, but he thinks Cloud may also have it. He couldn't be sure. So, instead, he pinpoints on you and Rynn. The thing is …" Sephiroth hesitated.

"After today, he now knows that you have the Ultimate Sphere," Cloud went on quietly. "And possibly Rynn too, since they've got her now."

"Wait a minute. Earlier today, right before those two guys left, one of them asked the other to 'test me', and he slashed my arm. What does that mean?" Rane asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"They've got your blood on the sword, didn't they? I'm guessing he meant to test if you have the immunity of the sphere in your blood. They'll know by now already," Sephiroth explained.

Rane fell silent. "Then again, if they have Rynn and if they tested her …wouldn't they find out that she also has the sphere's powers?" she asked, biting her bottom lip.

"In a sense, yes. That would baffle Hojo, which in the meantime, gives us the opportunity to get into action," Cloud replied.

"So …do you know their names?" Rane asked.

Sephiroth paused for a moment. "The oldest one …is Loz. He's the one with short crew-style cut. Then the younger one, Yazoo, is the one with the longest hairstyle. The last and youngest one is Kadaj. Not surprisingly, he's the leader."

"He is? What do you mean, not surprisingly?" Rane echoed.

"You could say …that he's the strongest of them. And that makes him twice as malicious," Cloud added quietly.

Rane closed her eyes briefly, then sighed as she reopened them. "Do you guys know where they are?"

They both shook their heads. Then Sephiroth said, "But don't worry. We'll find them. When Hojo created me and Cloud …he also gave us a sixth sense."

_Later …_

"I can't believe I never bothered to find out about the Ultimate Sphere," Rane said quietly. She was sitting on the beach next to Cloud after Sephiroth left them alone. The sun had long set over the horizon, and she was grateful that the day was over. Night seemed to comfort her for some reasons.

"Sephiroth knew if he told you about the secrets of the sphere, you would never accept it. And he needed you to accept it as a peace offering," Cloud replied.

Rane managed a faint smile as she turned to look at him. "How come you know him so well, Cloud?"

Cloud chuckled and leaned back on his elbows, gazing at her. "Because …in a way, we're like the same person. He knows what I'm thinking, and I know what he's thinking. It's scary."

"It must be scary for him. Who knows what kind of thoughts you have in your mind," Rane teased lightly.

Cloud glanced at her and slowly smiled. "I know. Sometimes I pity him. But I guess it compromises with the fact that I also have to know what he thinks."

Rane laughed. "You're mean. Hey, you think I should call Lynx now?"

"Sure. If you have your cell phone with you," Cloud said.

Rane nodded. She withdrew her cell phone and dialed a long-distant number. She spoke quietly to Lynx for a few moments, then closed her phone. "She says she'll be here as soon as she can, but she'll probably have to drag Seifer along," Rane proclaimed. The breeze lightly fluttered her hair across her face, and before she could pull the loose strands away, Cloud reached out and tenderly brushed the strands back, tucking them behind her ear.

"Your hair is much longer now," he said softly, staring into her eyes.

Rane gazed back at him, hesitating, not sure of how to react. "Well, um, I haven't got around to getting a haircut," she told him, pushing her hair back.

"You don't have to," Cloud said, gently running his fingers through her long, chestnut hair. "I like it the way it is. It's you."

Rane turned away. "I …" she couldn't think of what to say.

Cloud lowered his eyes to the sand, in the meantime withdrawing his hand as if he understood that she felt uncomfortable. "Rane ...I was just wondering …even if you eventually decide that our relationship is really over …" he looked at her, pausing. " …can we still be friends like we used to be?"

Rane turned and as she gazed into his eyes, she felt her heart twisting painfully. "We'll always be best friends, Cloud," she told him softly, her eyes filling with tears. "No matter what happens …whether we're in a relationship …or not."

"Just …for the time being, I don't want to know your decision yet, Rane. If that's okay with you." Cloud stared out at the dark nothingness. "I just want to enjoy whatever little time I have left with you, before …" He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to. They both knew that eventually, she would have to choose between him, and Reno.

A lone tear rolled down her cheek. "Can I tell you something, Cloud?"

Cloud looked at her. "Of course."

"I just want to say …that it hurts me to have to do this," Rane whispered. "Figuratively …you're my weakness, Cloud – and Reno's my strength. You make me want to give up the world and just be with you …but Reno …he makes me want to stay strong and fight for what's best for me. Ironically, I can't live without both my weakness and my strength. So tell me …which do you expect me to choose?"

Cloud gazed at her, then smiled sadly, touching her cheek gently. "You're silly, you know that, Rane Lockhart? Of course I'd want you to choose your weakness," he said softly, his intense aqua eyes brimming with tears. "Because then …I can just be your world instead."

Rane gazed back at him, oblivious to the tears that were now flowing freely down her cheeks. There was nothing in her heart that she could say to him without betraying herself. Cloud reached over and gently smudged the tears with his thumb, then he leaned over and pulled her into his arms, closing his eyes as he rested his cheek on her head.

"I've missed you so much, Rane," he whispered, relishing the feel of her body against his again.

Rane didn't resist. Instead, she let herself relax into his strong arms, feeling the exhaustion washing over her like tidal waves. "I've missed you too," she said softly. She lifted her head and gazed into his familiar aqua eyes. Then, as gently as he could, Cloud leaned forward slowly, covering his mouth over hers in a soft, poignant kiss.

The familiar feeling of his mouth on hers brought tears to her eyes, and she pulled away as if she had been burned. Rane stared at him wordlessly, the touch of his lips leaving a tingling sensation on her own lips.

"Rane, I'm sorry –" Cloud began, but she leapt to her feet and started walking away. He got up and went after her.

"Cloud, please," Rane pleaded. "Let's just forget about tonight, okay? I can't do this. I …I need to be alone for a while." Then she turned around, not wanting to look at his heartbreaking expression, and ran away into the darkness.

"What did you guys find?" Kadaj asked as he walked into the laboratory where Loz and Yazoo had a drugged Rynn strapped to a chair.

Loz turned away from a sterile steel cart with instruments on it, and said, "She has it. But …" he trailed off.

"But what?" Kadaj repeated, frowning as he walked closer.

"She only has a portion of it. Not the whole thing," Loz told him. "See, according to Gast's report, the Ultimate Sphere initially has a concentration of 168.3 parts per million of the radioactive promethium in it. Promethium is the main compound in the sphere, the one that gives it the unbelievable power. We only found approximately 28 ppm in her blood cells. That's one sixth of the original concentration." He looked at Kadaj, waiting.

"So we were right," Yazoo added. "The Ultimate Sphere must have been separated and given to six different people."

Kadaj stood silently as he stared at Rynn, who was lying unconscious. Then he slowly said, "Six of them. Sephiroth …he definitely has it. Rynn also has it. Who else does?"

_Monday afternoon …_

"You gotta come and pick me up, 'cos I'm standing in the middle of nowhere with no idea where I am," Lynx Almasy complained over the phone. "And Seifer isn't helping at all. Seif, don't do that, there's fragile stuff in my bag!" she shouted in the background.

Rane yawned and glanced at the digital clock on the night table as she sat up on the bed. "Alright, alright. Tell me where you are, or at least, describe it."

"I'm _pretty_ sure we're in Midgar already; just where exactly, I don't know. It looks like I'm on the outskirts, or maybe somewhere close by," Lynx replied.

"Okay …you see any signs, anything that says what street you're on?"

"Um …I'm not sure. There's a huge mega complex …wait, let me see." There was a pause, and Rane could hear Lynx and Seifer's voices in the background. She was saying, " …no, you doofus, I want you to go get a closer look of the name of the complex! I can't see from where I'm standing …just do it, Seifer!" She was back on the phone. "I don't know why I have to bring my moronic brother along, but this better be good, Rane. I mean, if Rynn is missing it would just take the two of us to find her. We don't need that idiot."

"Hey, who are you calling an idiot?" Rane heard Seifer's voice shouted in the background.

"Shush," Lynx told her brother. "Rane, we're close to Cosmic Two; does that give you an idea of where we are?"

Despite the glum circumstances, Rane managed a smile at Lynx and her brother's antics. "Yeah, that's good enough. Just stay put, I'll come and pick you guys up, okay?"

"Hurry up. I don't think I can stand being around Seif any longer."

After Rane hung up, she walked into the hotel bathroom and took a shower. After last night's confusing events, she didn't think she could return to the Turks' mansion so soon. Instead, she took the overnighter she had kept in the trunk of her car, and spent the night in a hotel close by.

About fifteen minutes later, Rane walked out of the hotel with her overnighter, dumped it in the backseat of her car, and drove off to find Lynx before she killed her brother.

_Meanwhile, at the Turks' mansion …_

"I can't believe you guys." Rufus was pacing back and forth in the Oval Office, shaking his head. "There are four of you guys, three of them. You had them right in front of you, and none of you made even so much as an attempt to try to stop them from getting away?"

"They moved fast, Rufus. They were gone before we even got close enough to take a look at any of them," Tseng said defensively, sounding a little annoyed. "Besides, what the hell happened to your so-called security team? At the rate they're responding to this situation we'll be celebrating Christmas tomorrow."

"They _did_ respond. But those guys were fast," Rufus snapped.

"That's exactly what I meant," Tseng said dryly.

Rufus shook his head. "You guys could've attacked them, stall them a little longer before they disappeared."

Tseng threw his hands up in the air. "I just told you they were gone before we even had a chance to attack them!"

Everyone fell silent. Rude, Reno, and Elena were all staring at the table. They had been quiet the whole time since the start of the meeting.

"Look, why don't you two just calm down and we'll talk over this in a civilized way," Reno said finally, breaking the silence.

"I want to know why they attacked Cosmic One," Rufus said angrily. "I want you guys to find them."

"I know how to find them," Tseng said, his expression serious.

Everyone turned and looked at him.

"You do?" Elena asked in surprise.

Tseng turned and looked at Reno directly. "Yes. I bet Rane knows where they are," he said.

Reno stared at him, stunned. "Rane? How would she know?" he asked, equally surprised as the others.

Tseng leaned back, rubbing his jaw with one hand.

"Remember yesterday, before those guys left, one of them yelled for the other to 'test her'?" he asked the Turks, who glanced at each other, then nodded. He went on, "Those guys must have thought she's got something they're looking for. What it is, we don't know. The key here is to find Rane first; I'll bet she knows more than we think she does. And also, Reno, didn't she say she was going to look for Cloud yesterday?"

At the mention of Cloud's name, Reno's expression darkened. "Yeah," he muttered, shifting in his seat. "Whatever."

"You think Cloud and Rane both have something to do with these three guys and the attack on Cosmic One?" Rude asked.

"I don't _think_. I _know_," Tseng said smoothly. "Plus Sephiroth and Rynn. First Sephiroth disappears, then Rynn, and now Rane has gone to look for Cloud. There's gotta be something going on here that they didn't tell us. So …I say we go find them, and we'll get those three guys."

Rufus thought for a moment. "I'm at a point where I don't know what else we can do. So I guess you can try finding Rane first." He exhaled wearily. "Call her."

And the Turks were dismissed.

"Thank _God_ you're finally here," Lynx exclaimed as Rane got out of the car to help them with the luggage. "If you'd been a second later you would've find Seifer's remains under my feet."

Rane laughed as she grabbed a luggage. "I'm sorry. I was caught up in the traffic." She turned and smiled at Seifer. "Hey, Seifer."

"Hi," Seifer said sourly. "I don't like this slum."

"Seifer!" Lynx snapped, hitting him in the arm. "Don't be rude. You'll realize soon that people like you belong in the slums anyway."

Rane grinned. "Don't worry; it _was_ the slums." She put the luggage into the backseat of her car. Then they all got into the Merc; Rane driving, Lynx in the passenger seat, and Seifer squashed between all the baggages.

"I love your car. It's absolutely gorgeous," Lynx gushed. "I can't believe you won this year's Grand Prix."

Rane grinned. "I know, I'm still having a hard time believing it. What's even harder to believe is that I finally have my own car." She glanced at Lynx. "How's Zell? I haven't seen him in a while."

"There's nothing interesting to see of him anyway," Seifer muttered from the backseat.

Lynx turned around in her seat and glowered at her brother before turning back to Rane. "Zell's good. He signed up for this fighting competition in Balamb – I can't remember what it's called – and so he's training hard for it."

"Yeah, he's got a long way to go, see. Also, I'll bet he'll come in last in the competition," Seifer interrupted.

"Seifer, shut up!" Lynx snapped at Seifer, who was guffawing as if he had just made the joke of the year. She rolled her eyes at him and turned forward. "So tell me. What's going on here?" she asked Rane.

Rane paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "You remember the Ultimate Sphere?" she asked them as she stopped at a red light.

"Of course. Does this have anything to do with the Ultimate Sphere that we have?" Lynx questioned.

"It has everything to do with the sphere," Rane replied softly. "A couple of days ago, there was an attack on Cosmic One in First District."

"First District? Was that originally Sector One?" Lynx asked.

Rane nodded. "They changed the names of the eight cities after Rufus resurrected the Shin-Ra Corporation. Anyway, Cosmic One which was once First District's biggest attraction is now nothing but mere wreckage. And the three guys who did it look so much like Sephiroth, it's uncanny."

"Oh my God. Are they …Sephiroth's clones or something?" Lynx asked.

Rane shrugged, exhaling. "I'm not sure, Lynx. But they're all looking for one thing; the sphere that all six of us shared."

"Great news. Now my question is; how could they possibly get the sphere now that it's infused in us already?" Seifer asked sardonically.

"I'm sure they've already thought of that before they come looking for it," Rane told him.

"Okay, let me get this straight. These three guys who look like Sephiroth, according to you, want the Ultimate Sphere which the six of us have. So you got Lynx and me to come down here all the way from Balamb – for what? To make their search for the sphere easier?"

"Look, that's what I thought at first too, okay? But Sephiroth thinks it's better if there are six of us here, because then together we'll be able to fight against these guys." Rane glanced over her shoulder at Seifer. "And trust me, Seif; I've fought with them before. They're not that easily defeated."

"They've still got Rynn," Seifer pointed out. "If they somehow managed to get the sphere from the rest of us, then we're dead because I'm sure they won't have any problem getting it from Rynn since she's been taken hostage by them."

"That's why we need to go get her back, idiot," Lynx chimed in, rolling her eyes at her brother as if she couldn't understand why she had such a moronic brother. "And besides, the odds are stacked against them. We outnumber them."

"But before we do that, we've gotta –" Rane didn't finish her sentence. An earsplitting, earth shattering explosion thundered through the streets of Second District. Gripped with terror and urgency, Rane swerved to the side lanes to avoid being hit by the cars behind her and floored the brakes. She could feel as if the earth was tearing apart.

"Oh my God! Was that an earthquake?" Lynx cried, her eyes wide with terror.

"No, someone just blew up that building we were standing nearby before!" Seifer said as he turned around in his seat.

He was right.

Rane stared in horror as she watched, numbed with shock, the mega complex known as Cosmic Two collapsing into bits and pieces. It looked as if an invisible hand was crushing the mall, tearing it apart, setting it aflame. She was so stunned she could hear the roaring in her ears, not the deafening noises as the building collapsed. Her heart was pounding faster by each second. _This cannot be happening …_

_Meanwhile, at the Shin-Ra's headquarters …_

The Turks' beepers all went off at the exact same time whilst they were having lunch in the cafeteria. They exchanged glances at each other, then as the other employees watched in curiosity, all four of them got up and sprinted out of the cafeteria.

Rufus was speaking urgently to someone on the phone when they burst into his office. He hung up as soon as he saw them and said immediately,

"There's been another attack. It's Cosmic Two. I want you guys to get down there now! Find the bastards!"

"Who are you calling?" Lynx asked as Rane pulled out her cell phone.

"Cloud," Rane replied as she pressed a quick-dialing number and held the phone to her ear. She waited for a moment as it rang once, twice, but it felt like forever. From where they were sitting in the midst of the cluster of cars who had stopped in the middle of the freeway to observe the horrific explosion, she could almost feel the heat emitting from the explosion.

"Rane. Where are you?" Cloud's concerned voice came over the other end of the line. He must have had caller ID on his cell phone. Then again, what kind of cell phones doesn't have a caller ID?

"Cloud!" Rane said in relief. "I'm about ten blocks from Cosmic Two. Cloud, the whole place is a mess. They – they've attacked again." She thought about all those innocent lives caught up in the debris, and her throat welled up. She inhaled sharply. "Listen, I'm with Lynx and Seifer, I need you to come and get them to somewhere safe before they find us."

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm going to Cosmic Two, and I can't bring them with me because what if those guys are –"

"You're going _where?_ Rane, listen to me. _Don't_ go there. The reason they blew up that building is because they know it'll draw one of us out. We can't go there; it's too dangerous. We can't afford for another one of us to get captured by them," Cloud told her urgently. "They've already got Rynn, we can't let them get another one of us."

"Cloud, there're innocent people trapped underneath the rubble who're probably still alive. I can't leave them there and besides, if those guys are there, I want to know where my sister is," Rane protested worriedly.

She could hear Cloud inhaling sharply over the phone. "Rane, listen. You can't go there. Look, stay where you are and I'll come get you guys, alright? I'm close enough so I won't be long. Just don't go anywhere first. I'll be there in five," he said.

"But Cloud –"

"Stay there, Rane, please. If anything happens to you, I'll never forgive myself." Cloud hung up after that, leaving Rane sitting in the car with her head throbbing.

"Is he coming?" Lynx asked, knitting her eyebrows worriedly.

Rane exhaled tiredly and nodded. "Yeah, but …" she glanced at the direction of Cosmic Two.

"Hey, even if you want to go there, you'll have to walk ten blocks because there's no way we can get this car out of this jam," Seifer pointed out, indicating at the roadblock caused by the hundreds of cars stopping in the middle of the freeway.

"True," Lynx agreed, for the first time in her life agreeing with her brother.

Rane shook her head, but before she could reply, her cell phone rang in her hand. She looked down at it, and saw that it was Reno. She hesitated for a moment as it rang relentlessly. Lynx and Seifer both stared at her.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Lynx asked.

"It's Reno. He'll want to know where I am," Rane replied, biting her lower lip as she pondered. Then she sighed as she decided to answer his call. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Where are you?" He sounded so concerned that she felt bad for actually considering not answering the call before.

"Um, stuck on the freeway between Second District and the main harbor," Rane replied, glancing around dejectedly. "I can't go anywhere."

"Second District? You saw what happened, then?"

"I felt the explosion," Rane told him, closing her eyes momentarily. "It was horrible. All those people in there …"

"Listen, I – hold on." Rane could hear Reno speaking in low voices in the background. He was back on in a few seconds. "Rane, I need to talk to you. Something very serious is happening right here in Midgar and I think you know what I'm talking about."

Rane felt her blood running cold as she sat up straight. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly.

Reno hesitated. "Look, uh, I don't want to talk about this over the phone. Those three guys …they're looking for something that you may have, am I right?"

Rane felt her jaw slacking, stunned. _How did he know?_"How …"

"You don't have to answer that now," Reno went on quickly. "We're at the site now, and I just want to know where I can meet you. But if you're going to be at home, then I'll see you later …I hope. This is important, Rane. We have to talk."

Rane paused. "I …I'll be at home," she replied. "Later. I promise."

There was a short silence as the noises in the background filled the line. "Okay. I hope to see you then," Reno replied quietly.

When she hung up, she felt a heaviness in her heart that she had never felt before. But Rane knew this wasn't the time to deal with her heart; she had more important things to do.

Seifer was sprawled over the tiny backseat, rested against the baggage, one arm flung over his eyes. "How much longer are we going to be stuck in here?" he groaned.

Rane glanced at him, knowing how exactly he feels. She leaned her head against the headrest and sighed wearily. "I can't believe this is happening," she told Lynx as she sat up restlessly. She felt as if she couldn't sit still while Cosmic Two is in such shambles. She had to do something.

"You're not going anywhere," Lynx said. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to separate right now."

"Great, so we're just going to sit here and wait until someone clears out this roadblock?" Seifer asked sardonically.

Lynx was craning her neck side to side as she looked beyond the line of cars. "Not really. I think some of the cars are starting to move, slowly."

Rane shook her head and got out of the car. "That's it. I'm not staying here. If those guys are still at Cosmic Two, I want to beat the crap out of them until they let me see my sister," she said heatedly.

"Rane!" Lynx cried, alarmed. "You are _not_ leaving us here by ourselves!"

A deafening noise of screeching motorcycle wheels on the asphalt road interrupted them, causing all three of them to turn towards the source of noise.

"Oh my God," Rane gasped when she saw, about fifteen yards away, Cloud's Fenrir motorcycle was flocked by three other mysterious black motorcycles mounted by none other than the three silver-haired guys. From where she was standing she could scarcely see swords slashing so swift at one another that all she could see was lightning-fast blurry movements and sparks shooting out everywhere.

"Come on, what are you still standing there for?" Seifer shouted, jumping out of the car as if it were on fire. "Let's go get them!" He practically grabbed her and Lynx, and the three of them ran towards Cloud and their enemies.

Before they even got there, two of them, Rane recognized as Loz and Kadaj, turned around and focused their attacks on Lynx, Seifer, and herself. They were almost caught off guard, initially only capable of defending themselves, but then they regained their leverage and fought back relentlessly.

Lynx and Seifer both attacked Loz, and Rane was left to fight Kadaj herself. It was a bad alternative because she had fought with them before and she knew Kadaj was the strongest and most dangerous opponent she had ever encountered.

At one point, Kadaj swung around and slashed his sword down at her so quickly; she almost didn't have time to defend herself with her own weapon. He leaned hard on his sword, applying more pressure on her, his green eyes blazing. "Where is it?" he shouted at her. "I know you have it!"

Rane swiftly yanked her laser blade away and kicked him sideways. He did a back flip but as he regained his balance, she lunged forward and pressed the edge of the blade against his neck, forcing him to stumble backward against one of the motorcycles. She glared at him angrily.

"Where's my sister?" she snapped, gripping the laser blade so hard she thought she would break it.

Kadaj smiled as if he weren't in danger of his life at all. "You know that even if you slit my throat, there's no point."

"Yes, I do know that. Then again …would you like to give me the pleasure to do that?"

In a quick motion, he reached up with his left hand and gripped her wrist which was holding the weapon against his neck. He squeezed her wrist, his green eyes burning into hers. "I have your sister. But if you kill me now, you'll never see her again," he told her, a discreet smile playing on his lips.

His grip was hurting her, but she didn't want to show it and satisfy him. Instead, she pressed harder, until a thin line of blood formed beneath the edge of her weapon and on the smooth skin of his neck.

"I want to know where she is," Rane snapped. "Let her go, you bastard. You've done enough damage."

"No, the damage isn't enough. But …I'm not letting her go." In the speed of lightning, Kadaj yanked her wrist away, rolled over to straighten up, and jumped on the motorcycle. Before she knew it, the three of them were already speeding away, as suddenly as they had appeared. Lynx, Seifer, and Cloud rushed over to where she was standing, still staring at the disappearing figures.

"Shit. Why didn't you just kill that one?" Seifer asked her, slamming his fist angrily on Cloud's Fenrir.

Rane sighed wearily and shook her head. "He knows where Rynn is. If I had killed him then, he'll still be revived and I'll never see Rynn again."

"Don't worry about that. Are you okay?" Cloud asked her.

She nodded, and looked at them. "Yeah, I am. What about you guys?"

"We're fine," Lynx replied, out of breath. Her face was pale and drained. "Where did they go? They left so suddenly."

"I don't know," Rane admitted.

The roadblock was finally beginning to clear out, and they all stood watching as the cars drove past with passengers inside staring back out at them.

"Listen, we gotta get out of here," Cloud said. "We gotta meet Sephiroth."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

'The Realm Beyond Us'

_On the other side of Midgar, at their hideout …_

Rane gently fingered her sore right wrist as she sat down on the creaky couch. It was much lower than she had expected, and she ended up tumbling over the edge of the couch and onto the wooden floor. Seifer, who had been sitting on a chair across the room next to Lynx, laughed out loud at her.

"That's a really funny act, Rane," Seifer snickered, giggling to himself. "You should really be in the circus."

Lynx turned and slapped his arm. "Don't be rude, Seifer." But she was grinning herself.

Rane glared at him, flushing as she got up and sat on the floor instead. "It wasn't an act. And it's not that funny either," she muttered, embarrassed. She rubbed the red welt on her wrist where Kadaj had gripped her. Cloud walked into the room with Sephiroth and looked at Seifer and Lynx who was chuckling, then at Rane who was sitting on the floor holding her wrist.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked Rane, walking over to her. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

Seifer stifled a snort before bursting into a fit of snickers. Rane glared at Seifer.

"It's not that funny!" she protested, flushing red.

Cloud and Sephiroth were looking at each other as if to ask, _What is going on here?_

"The couch is creaky and weird," Rane muttered in response. "So I'm sitting on the floor."

"Yeah, right! She fell off the couch is more like it!" Seifer burst out into laughter, and Lynx joined him.

Rane grabbed the nearest object to her, which was thankfully for Seifer a pillow, and flung it at him. The pillow hit him in the face and she started laughing. Seifer grabbed the pillow, got up, his face red, and advanced towards her menacingly. Rane jumped up and cowered behind Cloud.

"Don't you dare hit me back, Seifer Almasy!" Rane cried in alarm as she clutched the back of Cloud's top with both hands. "You started it!"

Seifer squeezed the pillow in his hands, grinning threateningly. "Come on, Cloud. It's payback time."

"Cloud, don't!" Rane yelped.

Cloud chuckled. To her horror, he moved aside, reached one arm behind, and pulled her forward so Seifer could have a point blank target at her. In a flash, Seifer brought the pillow down and started whacking her with it.

"Ahhhhh! Help me!" Rane screamed, shielding herself with her arms. After about five whacks, Seifer put down the pillow and collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically. Rane pushed her now messy and tangled hair back from her face and clambered to her feet, her face flaming.

"Y-You!" Rane sputtered, kicking Seifer in the shin.

Cloud, Sephiroth, and Lynx were laughing at them, but Rane didn't find anything funny about it.

"Meanie!" Rane screeched, attempting to grab the pillow but instead, Cloud reached over and grabbed her around the waist from behind, pulling her back as he laughed. "You, too, Cloud! You let him hit me with the stupid pillow!" she cried to Cloud.

Cloud shook his head, grinning, then leaned his forehead against the back of her head and laughed again. "Sorry, honey. I couldn't help it. Your expression was priceless."

Rane smacked him in the arm, but she laughed anyway as she pointed accusingly at Seifer. "He laughed at me for falling off the couch, and then he hits me with the pillow! That's just not fair!"

"Honey, when are you going to learn that life is not fair?" Seifer drawled.

Sephiroth chuckled as he walked over the couch. He had been watching the affair in amusement, and now he said to Rane, "Did you really fall off this couch?"

It seemed as if everyone was staring at her expectantly with ear-to-ear grins on their faces. Rane flushed red as she lowered her eyes.

"Uh …not really, I mean …um, I was uh, I just kind of …slipped off the –"

"As if!" Seifer scoffed. "She was about to sit on the couch but she ended up tumbling over like a dork!"

"It was an accident!"

"Come on, Seifer, stop it already," Lynx scolded her brother playfully, grinning as she walked towards Rane. "Sorry, Rane, but that was funny."

"Uh-huh," Rane muttered, turning away from them so they wouldn't be able to see her beet red face.

Seifer snickered, then took a deep breath as if to calm himself down, and sighed. "Okay, I'm alright now." He glanced at Cloud and Sephiroth. "So, what next?"

"Now, we strategize," Sephiroth said, smiling mysteriously.

"You've got a plan?" Lynx asked.

"Something like that," Cloud responded, nodding.

"Okay, well – let's hear it, then," Rane said, settling down on the couch carefully this time.

Sephiroth nodded as they all crowded around a wooden table. He unfolded the map he had been holding all this while, and then spread it on the wooden table. It looked like a very complicated maze, and it had been hand drawn.

"Alright, listen up. What we've got here is a map I drew of the Underworld." He glanced at each of their expressions, then asked mildly, "You guys know what the Underworld is?"

They all shook their heads no, except for Cloud, who sat there with a serious expression on his face. Cloud spoke up, continuing after Sephiroth.

"It's the world beyond the boundary of ordinary human beings, inhabited by nothing but the most vicious and powerful evil forces in all of eternity. There's a thin line between humans on the Planet, and those beings underneath us in the Underworld. We cannot see them, but they can sense us."

"Wait a minute," Rane interrupted, suddenly straightening up as her eyes widened a little. "The Underworld – now I remember. Isn't it the realm that was created right before the Meteor attack – when the Planet was at its most vulnerable point? That was when all the Weapons came alive, and their primary purpose to keep the Planet from being invaded by evil was set aside when the Planet was threatened with the Black materia."

Sephiroth nodded in agreement. "That's right. Now that you guys have a basic idea of what Underworld is, then I guess you'll know what I'm about to say next." He looked at each of them expectantly.

"Those three guys, and whoever who is manipulating them are in the Underworld," Seifer suggested. "Along with Rynn."

There was a short silence as everyone digested this information.

"Great news," Lynx said dryly. "So now, my question is; how do we get into the Underworld?"

Cloud smiled discreetly, and nodded. "That's the reason why we're all here. I don't need to tell you that the Underworld is an extremely treacherous place – ordinary human beings wouldn't be able to make it there alive, or even knowing where the boundary that separates Planet and Underworld begins. Then again …we're not all that human, as you know. With the five of us, we have a very good chance of detecting the boundary, and enter the other realm alive and in one piece."

"The next part is the difficult part. As you can see on this map, the realm is relatively small at the time being, although it gradually expands an acre each year. However, it is not a simple as we would like it to be. Not only the place is a complex maze, it is also full of unseen evil forces that will undoubtedly slow down our journey into the center of the realm." Sephiroth paused, as if to indicate to Cloud that it was his turn to talk.

Cloud shifted in his position, moving forward, then picked up the cue and continued, "Now. We need two plans; the latter one as backup in case Plan A fails. This is what we do – we have to split up into two groups. Let's see …Team 1." He glanced up at the rest of them expectantly. "Any volunteers?"

"Me!" Lynx exclaimed. "I want to be in Team 1."

Cloud smiled, then started scribbling on a piece of paper with his left hand. It was one quirk that Rane still find surprising even after all these years of knowing Cloud, because he holds his sword with his right hand, but he writes with his left.

"Alright. So you'll be with Sephiroth."

"Wait. You and Sephiroth aren't going to be on the same team, are you?" Rane questioned.

"Nope. We gotta be on separate teams to lead you guys, in case you get lost," Cloud replied, grinning slightly at her. "Especially you. You're direction-lost. You can't tell from left to right."

"I am so not," Rane said defensively, flushing. "Well …I mean, of course I don't want to be wandering around in the Underworld by myself or with someone who doesn't have any more idea than I do about the layout of the place."

Lynx nodded in agreement. "Yeah." She peered at Sephiroth. "Sure you won't get me lost?"

Sephiroth grinned slightly. "If you can keep up with my fast strides."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," Lynx said determinedly. "I'm definitely _not_ getting lost in a place like that."

"What about me?" Seifer interrupted, looking offended that he had been temporarily left out.

"You can be in our team," Cloud said.

"No, wait a minute," Sephiroth objected, knitting his eyebrows together. "We can't leave the boundary between the Planet and the Underworld unguarded whilst we're in there. If anything happens and they disband the boundary, I really don't want to elaborate on what would happen to us. We need someone to guard the boundary."

Seifer crossed his arms over his chest. "And that someone is me," he muttered sulkily.

Lynx clapped her hands. "Wow, you're so smart, Seif," she cheered sardonically.

Cloud was frowning. "So, you're saying Seifer should guard the borderline whilst the rest of us are in there. Isn't it a bit risky he's by himself? What if there was a group attack or something?"

"Don't worry, I can handle ten scaly monsters with my eyes closed," Seifer remarked haughtily.

Rane rolled her eyes. "Puh-leeze," she muttered.

Sephiroth chuckled. "Seifer can handle himself, don't worry. _And_ guard the boundary at the same time, right, Seif?"

"Damn straight," Seifer replied almost indignantly.

"Alright, then. Now, down to Plan A. Any suggestions?" Sephiroth asked.

There was a short silence as everyone mused deeply. Rane glanced at the window, seeing that dusk was already settling in. She hoped wherever Rynn was, in that terrifying realm, she was safe and alive. She turned back to them. "Which team goes in first?" Rane questioned.

"Mine. We're Team 1, so I guess we'll be the rescue team. You guys, Team 2, is the backup team to support us and make sure nothing goes wrong," Sephiroth replied. "We'll take different routes."

"Cool. Okay, point of entry. How do we find that boundary and how do we get in?" Lynx asked, twirling a strand of her hair around a finger.

"Finding that borderline isn't a problem," Cloud told her. "But getting in, that's gonna be a little bit tricky. We can't draw any attention to ourselves while entering, or we won't make it in there."

"That's what your team is for," Sephiroth pointed out. "While Lynx and I sneak in via the front entry, you both gotta cause a distraction."

"A distraction? Cloud, that should come easy for you," Rane said teasingly.

Cloud glanced at her curiously. "What's that supposed to mean, huh?"

"Well," Rane responded innocently. "With that massive sword of yours, you're bound to catch attention anywhere in the world."

Lynx looked at Cloud and giggled. "I totally agree."

"Hey, at least it protects me," Cloud said defensively, grinning. "But don't worry; we'll make a good, loud distraction here. So you both don't have to worry about anything," he told Lynx and Sephiroth.

"Does that mean we have to ward off all the enemy attacks by ourselves?" Rane asked.

"Only temporarily, then Seifer can take over, and Team 2 can sneak in next. But, you guys gotta hurry up, because the back route doesn't stay clear of the guarding enemies for long. Whilst Seifer fights them, Team 2 would have to move towards the back entry in the south," Sephiroth told her. "Also, Lynx and I will take the direct route from the north." He indicated at the largest pathway towards the middle of the realm. "Somewhere in the middle, Team 2 would have to split up, and each of you has to target into the center from opposing sides. For instance, Cloud can take the west side, and Rane can clear the east side. Got it?"

"Wouldn't that be more dangerous if they're traveling alone?" Lynx asked, biting her lower lip.

Sephiroth rubbed his chin, thinking. "Well …that's our only way in, to make sure that we've got the center covered."

"True, and besides, traveling by ourselves would cause less attention being averted to us, so we'll be able to move faster," Cloud pointed out. "With less people around, we won't make as much noise or commotion, thus fewer enemies will detect us."

Seifer was drumming his fingers on the table, looking half bored. "Actually, perhaps for the first time ever, I agree with Lynx. I mean, true, we tend to draw less attention to ourselves if we're traveling alone, but it's a huge risk, you know. We've seen those guys at work; they're not easily tricked. I'm pretty sure they've got their eyes and ears all over the realm, not to mention also along the boundaries."

"We need more help," Lynx added.

Rane frowned. "But how, and who can we get? Sephiroth just said that anyone human can't go into the realm."

"You can always count on us," a vaguely familiar voice interrupted their discussion. Startled, all five of them turned to the doorway to find Rufus Shinra standing there, flanked by none other than the Turks.

What are you guys doing here?" Lynx asked, bewildered. "How did you find us?"

"It's not that hard considering you guys caused such a commotion fighting with those silver-haired dudes back in Second District," Tseng said mildly. "All we had to do was follow."

"Are you saying that you've been tracking our every movement after Second District, and we didn't even realize it?" Seifer asked incredulously, a bemused look on his face.

"That's right." Rufus stepped into the room, looking at them. "You need extra hand, I'll be more than glad to help you guys bust these bastards' asses."

Rane didn't think anything could be worse than this. Reno, Cloud, _and_ her all working together? She knew she was being selfish, but she dreaded the thought. _I can't think about my personal problems at a time like this,_ she told herself, biting her lower lip.

"Sounds like a plan," Sephiroth said finally. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?"

_Later …_

"Ooh, boy. This is such a bad idea," Lynx whispered to Rane once they were alone out in the balcony.

Rane glanced over her shoulder into the living room, where the guys were all sitting and still discussing about the plans. Reno was leaning back against the couch, smoking a cigarette as he listened, whilst Cloud was sitting a few seats away, indicating at something on the map as he spoke. Then she looked away, sighing.

"Tell me about it. I can't believe I'm seeing Reno and Cloud in the same room," she said. "But I can't think about it now; we've got too much in our hands at the moment."

Lynx sighed. "I know. I just hope Rynn is safe, that's all." She glanced at Rane. "Is everything okay between um, you three? I mean …are you with Reno now? I haven't got the chance to ask you that."

Rane smiled briefly. "Frankly, Lynx, I'm not sure anymore. Reno and I were never officially going out, but …we did have a bit of thing going on there if you know what I mean. And now that Cloud's back …I don't even know where I stand anymore."

Lynx nodded quietly, looking down at Midgar below them as she mused. "Who do you love more?" she finally asked.

Rane glanced at her momentarily, digesting her question. _Who do I love more? Reno …or Cloud?_ she asked herself. She couldn't answer the question, not without feeling as if she was betraying the other. When she paused a fraction too long, Lynx went on,

"You gotta face this sooner or later, Rane."

"I know, Lynx. I just …for the time being, I just don't want to think about it. Too much is happening here."

"You're right." Lynx exhaled. "Anyway, I think we'd better go back in there."

They turned and went back into the living room, as Lynx declared, "Alright, boys. Do we have a strategy, or not?"

"Of course," Seifer replied proudly. "Sit your butt down and we'll fill you in. It's called, Operation Defeat-the-Three-SHM, or a.k.a Save-Rynn-ASAP."

"What's SHM?" Rane asked quizzically.

"Silver-haired men," Reno replied mildly. "Excluding Sephiroth here." He handed them a piece of paper with scribbles all over it.

"Who's handwriting is this? It's horrible!" Lynx exclaimed.

"Hey, thanks for being so direct," Cloud said sarcastically, offended. "Besides, I wasn't the only one. Sephiroth was scribbling too."

Lynx and Rane giggled. "Sorry, couldn't help it."

**Operation Defeat-the-3-SHM (Get-Rynn-Back-ASAP)**

Two groups – Group 1 goes into the realm, Group 2 guards the border

Group 1 – Seif, Lynx, Rane, Cloud, Seph

Group 2 – Rude, Reno, Elena, Tseng

Plan A: Group 1 splits into 3 - Seif & Rane (backups)

Cloud & Lynx (backups)

Seph (rescuer)

Seph (yours truly) takes north & direct entry following the shortest & easiest route

Seif & Rane via south entry

Cloud & Lynx as backup (also via north entry)

Group 2 splits up

Rude: west border

Elena: east border

Tseng: south border

Reno: north border (front entrance)

All four boundaries covered; no possible escape of enemies – no way they can disband the boundary

Continuing with Plan A step-by-step:

Seph goes in 1st, needs distraction – C&L will distract forthcoming enemies

Whilst C&L distracts enemies, S&R will have 2 sneak in via south entry

C&L needs to focus their distraction on East side – Turks help out if a hand is needed. Once Seph, S&R successfully enters the realm, everyone goes back to their original positions – and move quickly!!!

Rude & Elena then need to cause distraction in West side, in order for C&L to enter via north without being detected (again, this time it is entirely up to the Turks) After all of Group 1 enters Underworld in succession, everyone falls back into position.

Note: The borders, as you will later see, are very thin, faint lines that are sometimes invisible to the naked eye. Only the six of us can detect it. Watch the borders! We can only cross it when it turns a very dim and dull, sort of grayish color. NEVER cross the border when it is luminous. The glowing luminosity is the indication that these borders are still guarded by the phantoms. If you cross when the border is luminous, we'll never even get into the realm. When the borders are dim, that's when the phantoms have left their positions heading towards the distracting sources and that's when it's safe to cross. So be careful!

From North side, C&L will eventually have to split up at the forked junction. Cloud will cut thru and head towards the Center from the East side. Lynx then continues the journey along North side.

From South side, S&R also will have to split up. Seifer takes the Center from the West side; whilst Rane moves on from the South side.

If Plan A succeeds – Rynn is saved, SHM defeated, Group 1 retreats via same route that each pair enters – Turks seal off the border with explosives 2 blow up the realm

**Note**:- Also, notice (from the map!) that all four sides are linked and there are shortcuts to get from e.g. North to East, East to South, so on. This is our emergency escape route. Keep in mind that if we're trapped in there we need to know how to get out!!!

If Plan A fails (_we don't wanna think __'__bout that yet__ – and hope we don't have to!__)_

Rane looked up from the paper. "Is that all?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow. "What about Plan B, backup plan in case Plan A fails?"

"Um, we're still thinking about that," Tseng said.

"No, actually, you girls should come up with Plan B, since we've cracked our brain to come up with Plan A," Rude decided.

Rane smirked. "Gee, I forgot what strain and stress it must be to think up something as simple as this …especially with what – seven of you guys here," she remarked.

Lynx chuckled. "Yeah. Well, you guys can give your pea-sized brains a break, whilst us girls will cook up Plan B."

"Actually, we can't really come up with Plan B," Sephiroth said. "Frankly, Plan A is our best bet; if it fails, we cannot predict what we can do."

"If Plan A fails, I guess we'll just blow up the whole realm with you guys in there," Rufus drawled lazily.

Rane and Lynx turned and glared at him. "On a second thought, maybe we shouldn't even have brought you guys in –" Lynx began.

"Just joking, Lynxie," Rufus smirked.

Rane exhaled as she sat down on one of the empty chairs. "Right, so we've got our plan worked out. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. We'll need as much rest as we can get tonight," Sephiroth told them. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

"Why are you doing this?"

Cloud and Reno were standing in the balcony, after everyone was asleep. Rufus had left, saying that he would be back early in the morning for the mission. Reno was smoking by himself in the balcony when Cloud walked out. Reno glanced over his shoulder briefly, exhaling a puff of blue smoke into the night air as he held a cigarette between his fingers.

"Why am I doing this? Isn't it obvious?" Reno asked mildly, turning away. "You, on the other hand, should just stop pestering her."

"I'm not pestering her. As far as I'm concerned, you and her never had a relationship," Cloud replied calmly.

Reno shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about that too much."

Cloud nodded. "So I see you're not giving her up."

Reno whipped his head and glared at Cloud. "Give her up? What, so you can easily ease your way back into her life and mess it up again? No f**king way, Strife. You just gotta deal with that."

"But you know that eventually, the final decision is hers. Not yours, not mine," Cloud pointed out.

"Yeah, and when the time comes, I'll deal with it," Reno snapped, lifting his hand and dragging on the cigarette. "And to answer your question, the only reason I'm doing this is because it's my job. It's what I do." He flicked the half-smoked cigarette over the balcony and promptly left.

Reno was still fuming when he walked into the hallway towards the bedrooms. Out of the dark corner, a silhouette suddenly appeared, bumping into him. Reno stumbled back, startled. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that it was Rane.

"Oh …sorry," Rane apologized, then looked up at him with surprise.

For a split second, they just stared at each other, surprised. Then Rane smiled a little. "Did you …just have a smoke?" she asked.

Reno looked at her, then nodded. "Yeah, actually …just before. Um. Why? Do I stink?"

Rane grinned, then laughed softly. "Nah. I can smell the smoke, that's all. It's late. Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Yeah, I was just going into the rooms …are you in a room with Lynx and Elena?"

Rane nodded. "Yeah. They're not asleep yet, we're just chatting. Sephy's gone out. I don't know where he went, but …" she paused, her crystals blue eyes dimming a little. "I think he's really concerned about Rynn."

Reno nodded in agreement, leaning against the wall as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. I think we all are …I just hope she's safe. Right now, that's what's important, until we get her back." He looked at her damped hair, and asked, "Did you just have a shower?"

Rane smiled. "Yeah. Um …" she paused. "I'm surprised to see you guys here, anyway."

Reno looked at her, then smiled dimly. "I didn't think, with all this commotion, you would remember to come back to me. To the mansion," he said softly.

Rane looked up at him, opening her mouth to reply. Then she realized what he was talking about, and she closed it again, flushing. "I …" she couldn't believe she had forgotten about it. Exhaling, she said quietly, lowering her head, "I'm so sorry, Reno. I know …you don't deserve to be treated this way."

Reno glanced away momentarily, staring at the floor behind her. Then his intense blue eyes flitted back to her, and he lifted a hand to touch her damp hair. "It's alright," he assured her gently. "I guess it's partly my fault too. I should've told you earlier …about how I feel. Maybe things would be different then, huh?"

Rane looked up at him, her mouth parting slightly. Then she bit her lower lip lightly. "Maybe." She hesitated. "I …never knew you felt that way, Reno. I've always thought …that being the womanizer you are …I was just another girl in your life."

Reno smiled mirthlessly, tracing a finger along her jaw tenderly. "You can't be serious, right? And I thought I was being transparent."

Rane gazed at him, tears flooding her eyes. "No, you weren't," she whispered. "I didn't know what to think, Reno. I wanted to take you seriously, but I didn't think you were taking me seriously."

There was sheer pain in his eyes, a hurt emotion that he couldn't hide. Their confessions had come a tad bit too late. Reno closed his eyes and quietly pulled her into his arms, pressing his cheek against her hair. He didn't care if it was damp; it may be the last time he could hold her like this. He felt tears burning the back of his eyelids, and he knew that it was the first time in his life he had ever come this close to hurting so much for a girl. He never knew he could feel this way for someone. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotions. "I'm sorry, Rane. I should've let you know that I love you," he whispered.

Rane pressed her forehead to his shoulder as she clutched his shirt with both hands lightly. "It's not your fault; please don't say sorry, Reno," she whispered, her voice tearful. "I just …I feel so guilty. You never did anything to deserve this from me …"

Reno kissed the top of her head, and hugged her close to him. "I told you, it's alright. But …I just want to know something, Rane," he said softly.

Rane slowly pulled her head away and glanced up at him, a sheen of tears glistening in her crystal blue eyes. "What is it?"

"Have you ever …" Reno paused, hesitating. Then he took a deep breath, as if to work up the courage to ask her this question. "I just want to know …have you ever loved me? Or …at least, even felt that maybe …you loved me?"

The question hit her heart directly. Rane gazed into his eyes for a long moment before her eyes filled with tears over again. Then, ever so slightly, she nodded slowly, shortly, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Yes …I have …Reno. You were always there for me, always by my side." She lowered her eyes down to his shirt buttons, gently fingering them. "I've always been so afraid to admit this, even to myself. I was afraid to love you, because I …I thought you were just fooling around. I just didn't want to walk towards another heartbreak. I never knew …"

"Well now you do," Reno said quietly, gazing down at her.

Rane looked up at him, staring deeply into his eyes. "I'm sorry for those times I hit you," she whispered, tenderly fingering his cheek, then moved her fingers over to touch the bridge of his nose which was still bandaged. "I never meant to hurt you."

Reno smiled softly. "That's alright. I'm still here, aren't I?" he said quietly, kissing her fingers.

Rane exhaled quietly, nodding dejectedly. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek, then drew back. "I think I'd better go to sleep. You too," she whispered almost inaudibly. "We need as much energy as we can possibly get for tomorrow."

Reno nodded. "Don't worry too much, okay?"

Rane smiled briefly. "If I can. I'll see you tomorrow, Reno. Good night …and sweet dreams."

He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "Good night, Rane. No matter what happens …I'll always love you."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

'Too Much of a Distraction'

_Next day …_

"I don't get it. Why isn't anyone up yet?" Rane muttered to no one in particular as she walked out of the room she shared with Lynx and Elena, freshly showered. As she entered the living room, she saw Cloud and Sephiroth in the balcony. Cloud caught her eyes, and smiled at her.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he greeted, leaning one elbow on the railing of the balcony.

Rane smiled as she walked out to the balcony. "Morning, guys. You're up early."

Sephiroth managed a light smile. "Yeah. We're just waiting for all you lazy bums to get up."

"I'm awake," she protested.

"Yeah, but everyone else is still dead to the world."

Rane sighed. "Alright, I'll go wake them up." She put up a finger. "Be right back." Rane turned and walked to the other room and opened the door quietly. It was completely dark, and she could scarcely make out the outlines of the bodies that was sprawled all over the double bed, on top of one another.

Rane frowned. The blanket was on the floor, and someone else was sleeping on it. Not to mention another figure was also slumped on the ratty couch nearby. How could they possibly sleep in such an uncomfortable-looking state? She tiptoed over to the bed, then peered at the person sleeping on the floor. It was Tseng. She could recognize his dark hair anywhere. The other one sleeping on the couch was Seifer. Even in his sleep, he treasured his precious gun blade so much that he looked as if he was hugging it. She stifled a snicker. She started to turn around to check who was on the bed, when she saw a dark ghost-like movement out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yaaaagghh!" Rane screamed in fright, her heart skipping a beat as she instinctively stumbled back. Her foot caught on the carpet, and she went flying backwards tumbling on the low, shabby bed on top of whoever who was sleeping there. She felt her elbow connecting to a hard stomach and winced.

"Oww!" someone beneath her yelped awake.

The desk lamp was then flipped on, and as she stared in astonishment, she realized that it had been Tseng who was aroused from the floor whilst she tiptoed around. His dark, black hair was in a mess and that must've been the so-called 'ghost' she thought she saw.

"What the hell?" Seifer demanded groggily as he sat up, his eyes half open. "Who died?"

Her heart still pounding fast, Rane slid off the bed on shaky knees and smiled weakly. "Uh …sorry."

Tseng lifted an eyebrow and yawned. "What is this all about? You reacted as if I were a ghost or something."

"You – sorry, I thought …" Rane didn't know what to say.

Rude was groaning on the bed. "Shit, you elbowed me in the stomach, Lockhart," he growled. "It hurts."

Rane looked at him apologetically, then back at them. "I'm so sorry, guys. I just – well, why aren't you guys awake yet? It's almost ten!" she said defensively.

"Damn, already?" Tseng shook his head and clambered up to his feet. "We'll all better get going soon. Where the hell is Rufus?"

"I don't know," Rane replied. "He's not here yet, I guess."

Seifer let out a monstrous yawn as he walked past her. "Next time you try to wake me up, just tap me on the shoulder. Trust me, you don't even have to scream," he told her mockingly.

Tseng smiled slightly at that, then glanced at the bed. Through all the racket in the room, the only person who didn't jolt awake was unsurprisingly, Reno. He sighed, rubbing his jaw. "Rude, wake that pig up," Tseng told Rude. "How anyone can sleep through all that commotion is beyond my imagination," he muttered under his breath as he walked out of the room.

Rane giggled, but Rude scowled disapprovingly. "Wake up, pig face." He reached over and flicked Reno's ear hard with one hand.

"Aaa …ouch!" The next thing he knew, Reno had grabbed the pillow on which he had been sleeping on and struck Rude on the head with it.

"Hey!" Rude protested loudly.

"Go away!" Reno snarled, flopping the pillow back over his head, covering his face entirely. "I'm not up yet!"

Rude grumbled under his breath as he leapt to his feet, walking out of the room. "He's all yours, Rane. Knock yourself out," he called out.

Rane started to protest, but he was already gone. She turned back to the bed when Reno was still lying there, sleeping like a log. She tugged his rumpled shirt which was sticking out beneath the white sheets.

"Reno, wake up. We're leaving soon," Rane urged, shaking him with one hand.

Instead of stirring or waking up, Reno snored loudly.

Rane rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help grinning. She reached over to grab the pillow from his grasp – and ended up yanking his red ponytail with it.

"Ouch!" Reno screamed instantly, jumping up into a sitting position as if he had been electrocuted.

Rane gasped when she realized what she had done. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" she apologized hastily. "I didn't mean it!"

"Yeah, right!" Reno growled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I swear it was an accident!" Rane cried in protest, holding both hands up in surrender.

"You pulled my hair!"

"I didn't mean to!"

Reno made a pout, still rubbing his head. Then he suddenly brightened. "You know what you can do to make up to me for that?" he asked her slyly, leaning towards her.

Rane lifted an eyebrow, her eyes widening as she leaned back a little. "Uh …what?" she asked cautiously.

"Kiss me, baby." Reno grinned lazily as he pulled her arm towards him. "Come on."

"Reno!" Rane protested, flushing. "Now isn't the right time. We have to leave soon."

"Oh, come on. Just one kiss …or I'm going to jot this so-called 'accident' under my list of 'Mean Things That Rane Lockhart _Accidentally_ Did to Me'," Reno said, grinning meanly. "One, she broke my nose with the volleyball. Two, she punched me in the face. Three, she almost yanked loose my ponyt –"

"It was an accident, I swear!" Rane cried defensively.

"Not number two, it wasn't!"

"That was different! You were –" Rane stopped abruptly as Cloud walked into the room.

Reno saw her sudden change of expression, followed her gaze and turned his head around. He smirked.

"Oh, Strife. Whatcha want, ma nigga?" he asked mockingly.

Cloud's gaze fell on Reno's hand which holding onto Rane's arm. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked calmly, ignoring Reno's question. "Let go of her."

"Cloud –" Rane began, her heart beginning to thump faster.

Reno yawned as if he couldn't care less. "You know what your problem is, Strife? You're too obsessed with Rane." He got to his feet lazily and shoved his hands in his pockets, taking a step closer to where Cloud was standing in the middle of the room. "Why don't you go get a life, huh?"

"Reno, stop," Rane protested, a dreaded feeling sinking in her stomach as she got up. This was _not_ going well at all. "Look, why don't we all just go get ready and –"

"At least I didn't bet on her like you did," Cloud snapped suddenly, his voice rising with anger. "Maybe you should go back to your favorite past time of sleeping around with women, drinking booze, and smoking pots all day instead of interfering with Rane and I."

"Hey, last I remember, the lowlife scum who cheated on his girlfriend wasn't me, it was _you_!" Reno snarled back.

"You guys, stop it!" Rane cried in horror.

"That has nothing to do with you, Langley!" Cloud shouted angrily. "Why don't you mind your own f**ing business?"

"Rane _is_ my business! And you know what? If you're a real man then you'll step out of my face, butt out of our lives and make everyone real happy!" Reno thundered. "You think you can make her happy? You don't deserve her at all! She dumped you, so get over it already, Strife!"

"Stop it, you two!" Rane cried, unable to believe she was witnessing this. But before she could do anything else, Cloud brought up a tightly wounded fist and threw a punch at Reno's jaw. Rane stared in stunned silence, her entire body racked with shock. She couldn't move for a second. She had never in all the years of knowing Cloud, seen him acting violent in front of her. Battleground violent fighting was different; this was nothing close to a battleground fight. This was Cloud and Reno.

"Cloud!" she screamed when her body finally reconnected with her brain, grabbing Cloud's arm as he lunged forward again. "No! Don't!"

Reno staggered backwards, his hand flying up to his jaw where Cloud had just hit him. There was fury in his blue eyes that was beyond description. Without warning, he lunged back at Cloud, hitting him in the face. Cloud responded by elbowing Reno in the jaw.

"Stop!" Rane screamed just as the door burst open and everyone else poured in to witness the sudden fight.

"Shit!" Tseng swore when he saw them. Everyone reacted at once. Before the two of them could charge at each other again, Rude and Tseng grabbed Reno while Sephiroth held Cloud back.

"Let me go, Tseng!" Reno shouted, struggling to free his arms. "He f**king started it, so why shouldn't I end it?"

"You don't deserve her, you asshole!" Cloud snarled back suddenly.

"Stop fighting!" Rane screamed so loud, all the activities in the room stopped abruptly. She glared at them both with undeniable rage in her eyes. "Why are you both acting so immature? I am not some kind of object that you can fight over!"

"I don't get this. Whatever have I done wrong to you, Rane? He was the one who cheated on you and broke your heart, not me! So am I being punished for that?" Reno yelled, his face flushing red with anger.

"Hey, f**k you too, Langley," Cloud snapped.

"That's enough! What is _wrong_ with you two?" Sephiroth shouted furiously. "How do you expect to work together in this if you're jumping at each other's throat any chance you get?"

Cloud was shaking his head. Then he turned and stared directly at Rane. "Tell me something, Rane. Who do you really love …me – or him?" he demanded, the room suddenly turning silent.

Everyone seemed to be staring at her, waiting for her to make the decision right then and there. It was more than she could take. This was what she had been avoiding all this time, and she knew she couldn't face it now. Not when so much is still happening, not when everyone else is here to witness, not when Rynn was still in the hands of such powerful enemies. Rane gazed at the two guys back and forth, feeling her heart being torn into two. She didn't have the answer. She didn't want to have the answer. Her heart was spinning wildly, and she felt dizzy. She took a step back, shaking her head slowly.

"I don't believe you two." Then, without another word, she whirled around and stormed out of the room.

"Hey!" Rynn cried loudly, kicking the bars of the cell she had been living in for God knows how long. "Get me out of here, you bozos!" Standing nearby were the three guys, and she wasn't going to let them leave her here by herself again.

One of them glanced over briefly, the one she recognized as Loz. She knew their names, since she had been there for so long. "In a minute," Loz said calmly.

Rynn smacked her hand on the bars. "What do you mean, in a minute? I've been here for so long I can't even remember when was the last time I saw sunlight!" she screeched. "What is it that you want from me? I've got nothing! Get me out of here!"

The youngest-looking one, Kadaj, was checking a device he was holding in his hand, his head lowered. "There _is_ something that we want from you." Then he slowly turned and looked directly at her with fiery green eyes. "But, unfortunately, we have to wait for the others to arrive, before we can get it."

Rynn stopped rattling and smacking the bars, and narrowed her eyes at him. "The others? Who are you talking about?"

"Who else?" Kadaj replied, taking a step closer, a menacing smile playing on his lips. "Your precious little friends, not to mention your look-a-like."

Rynn knew he was talking about Rane before he even have to mention her name. "What …" She still didn't know what was it that he wanted from her or her friends.

"Gee, you _are_ slow, aren't you?" Kadaj snapped.

"Hey, watch what you're saying to me!" Rynn shot back. "It's not my fault my brain doesn't work like your filthy ones do!"

Kadaj slammed his Velvet Nightmare against the iron bars furiously. "Shut up!" he thundered. "Your life is already in danger as it is. The only reason we're keeping you alive is because you still have something we want and until there are six of you here together in this realm, we can't get it!"

Rynn's mouth fell open. Suddenly, everything clicked. "The Ultimate Sphere …" she breathed. "You want the Ultimate Sphere. From …us."

"That's right, smarty. What better way to get all six of you to gather together, especially in this realm?" Yazoo said mysteriously.

"We've got activity," Loz interrupted, glancing at the device he had taken from Kadaj. "They're closing in."

Kadaj smiled sinisterly, then turned back to Rynn. "Your friends …are so predictable. So easily lured …like preys to predators."

_Much later, on the Eastern border of the Underworld …_

"Alright, people. You guys in your positions?" Sephiroth's voice came over the earpiece. "Cloud, you on?"

There was a short pause before Cloud's voice came over the earpiece that networked everyone else. "Yeah," he said shortly. "We're ready."

"Remember, don't cross the border when it's luminous, alright? You'll not only kill the plan, you'll possibly kill us all, because who knows how many evil forces are there in the realm? There're probably millions of them, and we won't stand a chance against them because we'll be vastly outnumbered," Sephiroth warned them. "Wait until the distraction is underway, and the borders starting to dim, that's when you can cross."

"Yes, sirree," Rane's voice responded over the earpiece.

"How are we meant to make a distraction?" Lynx whispered to Cloud. They were at the Eastern border of the Underworld, waiting.

Cloud glanced at her, thinking for a moment. "You know, your brother should distract first. That's his nature."

"Hey, I heard that," Seifer's haughty voice came over their earpieces.

Cloud and Lynx grinned at each other. "Nah, man, no offense, but it should come easy for you. Seph, don't you think Seif and Rane should distract instead of us?" Cloud asked.

"I wouldn't mind either of you causing a distraction. Works for me," Sephiroth replied. "Seif, what do you think?"

For a moment, there was only muffled voices belonging to none other than Seifer and Rane as they discussed.

Rane's laughter flooded the earpieces. "Um, Seph, yeah, we'll take the distracting job. Seifer here says that he could strip and –"

"I didn't say that!"

" – and that alone could eternally scar any living creatures within fifty miles of him, so we wouldn't have any problem distracting the enemies," she continued, snickering. "Not only that, he'll – ouch! Seifer, give that back to me, you moron!"

"Seph, I think they're already starting the distraction," Lynx said dryly, grinning. "I think you should get going now."

"Leave it to them to draw as much attention to themselves," Sephiroth said. "I'm going in."

Cloud chuckled, shaking his head as he picked up his sword. "Come on, Lynx. We should get rolling too."

_On the edge of the Southern border …_

Rane hit Seifer on the head with her palm and grabbed her laser-blade from his grasp with her other hand. "You're such a jerk, Seifer. One day I'll make you pay real good."

"Hey, speak for yourself," Seifer protested. "_You_ were the one who made up that mean stuff about me."

Rane couldn't help grinning. "What do you mean, mean stuff? It's only the truth and nothing but the truth," she replied innocently.

"It's not the truth and you know that. As if you don't already know that if I strip, all the girls would be fawning over me and fighting for a piece of me," Seifer bragged.

"Ugh! Puh-leeze! That thought alone is too gross and tasteless in nature for someone like me!" Rane scoffed, looking at him disdainfully. "You'll just end up scarring them for life."

Seifer glared at her. "Hey, look!" he exclaimed suddenly, pointing at something behind Rane's head. "It's a flying dinosaur that looks like you!"

Rane rolled her eyes as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "God, Seifer, please. You can be so lame someti – hey!" she protested as Seifer grabbed her weapon from her again and ran to the opposite side. "Seifer!" she yelled. "Come back here, you immature pea-brain! What do you think you're doing?"

Seifer grinned smugly. "Not until you get down on your knees and apologize for what you said about me."

"Oh – my – God!" Rane groaned, rolling her eyes. "You're unbelievable! I'm not going to apologize; there's nothing to say sorry for! Especially if it's you!"

Seifer glared at her. "That's it. You can go into the realm without any weapon."

Rane stormed towards him. "Give me back my laser-blade, Seifer Almasy, or I'll kill you with my bare hands!"

"In your dreams!" Seifer scoffed. "You can't touch the Great Seifer Almasy!"

Rane made a disgusted look. "Ugh, please! If you're great, then I would be the Wutai Princess!" she shot back.

"No, actually, if I'm great, then you are –" Seifer didn't have the chance to finish his sentence. The next thing they knew, they were being shoved against each other by a powerful force on opposite sides, and tumbled onto the ground together.

"Ouch!" Rane cried as her head hit hard on Seifer's shoulder.

"What the hell was th –" Seifer started angrily, but he stopped dead in his sentence when a shadowy, blurry figure slowly loomed into opaqueness, gradually filling out the contours of the silhouette. Rane opened her mouth to say something, but only a squeak came out. _No, not just one …_She could only watch in stunned horror as a troop of seemingly endless shadowy phantom-like figures began to appear before her very own eyes.

"Oh, shit," she heard someone's voice swearing over the earpiece, probably Tseng, but it sounded faraway. "Here it comes."

Rane took a deep breath. "Seif, you gonna give me back my weapon now?" she murmured, trying not to move in case the phantoms attack them suddenly.

A sudden bolt of light whizzed towards them, and it was almost too late before Seifer and Rane managed to leap apart from one another, roll over to their sides, and spring to their feet.

"Sic 'em, Rane!" Seifer yelled as he tossed Rane's laser-blade to her before turning his swift attention onto the advancing enemies. Rane grabbed hold of the laser-blade, and readied herself for the attacks. It seemed to her that the battle had begun out of nowhere. In a blink of an eye, one phantom-like enemy after another attacked her relentlessly. There had to be hundreds of them, all these ghastly figures with the strangest weapons and powers that she had never encountered in all her years of experienced battling with enemies. For every one that she defeated, it seemed that there was one more. It wasn't until the Turks ran over and joined the battles, that the enemies slowly, gradually began to decrease in numbers.

Eventually, the last, but not least, was defeated and like the others, liquefied into the nothingness that they had originally appeared from.

"You guys okay?" Reno asked Rane and Seifer.

They both nodded, speechless for a moment.

"Oh my God …" Rane breathed, her eyes wide. "They were onto us like raging pit bulls – and there were hundreds of them!"

"Damn straight," Rude agreed. "I thought I was going to have to fight them forever."

"Are Seph, Cloud, and Lynx inside already?" Rane asked the Turks.

Tseng nodded. "Yeah. They snuck in while we were fighting with those phantoms."

"Man, I'd be _pissed_ if they're still hanging around outside the borders while we put our asses out on the line just to distract these bastards," Seifer said heatedly.

"Why can't I hear them talking?" Rane asked, adjusting her earpiece.

Tseng shook his head. "We can't communicate with them temporarily while they're crossing the border. Static change."

Elena helped Rane to her feet. "Come on, you guys better hurry and get into the realm. Who knows when the next batch will attack. We'll distract them from the Western border this time."

As if on cue, the ground started vibrating. Everyone looked at each other with wide eyes. When it was apparent that the vibrations were gradually amplifying, Tseng ordered, "Turks, let's get moving!"

The four of them took off running to the Western border as Rane and Seifer approached the Southern border which, to their surprise, was starting to dim as Sephiroth had said.

"Hey guys, we're going in, alright?" Rane spoke into the mouthpiece attached on her midriff. "Keep distracting them." Then she glanced at Seifer anxiously. "Ready?"

"Sure," Seifer replied cockily. "Come on, you scared?"

Rane rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not."

Seifer grinned and extended his hand. "Let's get the show on the road, then."

Rane inhaled sharply, grasped his hand tightly, and then, together, they leapt into the Underworld realm.

Kadaj glanced up and smiled mysteriously at his brothers. "Let the games begin."


	10. Chapter 9

Inside the Underworld Realm

Chapter Nine

'The Fight Against our Weaknesses'

_Time is no longer of any essence in a world of evil spirits & phantoms …_

Sephiroth felt the presence before he even saw it. He stopped in his tracks, toying with the handle of his Masamune. "Show yourself," he said quietly, not to no one in particular. Out of the shadows, emerged a silhouette that appeared to be Rynn Lockhart. It wasn't a surprise to Sephiroth. He stood staring at Rynn, not moving, his eyes slowly calculating.

"Sephy!" Rynn cried, advancing towards. "You've come to save me!"

Sephiroth narrowed his fiery green eyes at her. "Don't come any closer," he said forcefully.

Rynn's eyes darkened for a split second, then they cleared again. But the instantaneous change was enough to confirm Sephiroth's own suspicions. "But it's me, honey," she said softly, her eyes burning into his as she stepped closer. "Don't you miss me?"

"You're not Rynn," Sephiroth snapped, lifting his sword a little.

Rynn was close enough that her face was inches away from his. "How would you know?" she asked in a hurt voice. Her eyes trailed down to his hand which was lingering on his sword, then she gazed up at him again. "Why, sweetheart …you're not going to kill me, are you?"

Sephiroth tightened his grip on his sword as he backed away a little. As much as he knew it wasn't Rynn, there was also that reluctance in another part of him that refused to kill this enemy in the façade of his girlfriend. "Go away. Don't make me do it," he said quietly with a little strain in his voice.

"Oh come on, Sephy …you can't do it. You're not going to kill your girlfriend, are you?" Rynn asked sweetly. The phantom in disguise was so much like Rynn that he found it eerily uncanny.

_She's not Rynn, just kill her!_ His mind was yelling at him. But he couldn't do it. The more he stared into her brilliant eyes, the more he felt his resolves collapsing.

"My, my …look at you, darling. Fighting with your guilty conscience again, huh?" the phantom asked in a voice so much like Rynn, it freaked him out.

Sephiroth lifted his sword, and for the first time, his hands felt clammy. _This isn't Rynn. She's not Rynn. Rynn is still being held hostage …_He knew if he didn't do it right now …he would never survive this. His guilty conscience would eat him alive. Inhaling sharply, Sephiroth brought his sword up and swung at the disguised phantom. He closed his eyes at that split second, knowing that if he didn't, he could never block out the appalling image from his mind ever if he observed his own Masamune slashing against the throat of one who looked so uncannily like Rynn.

When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing in front of him, only dust-like particles floating in the haunted air of the realm, reflecting ominous kaleidoscopic colors.

Sephiroth waited until his breathing slowed down to a normal pace. Then he put his sword away.

"The game …' he said quietly. " …has only just begun."

_Meanwhile …_

"Sephy, you okay?" Lynx asked over the earpiece, her voice tinged with concern. They had heard some noises in the background, but they couldn't make out what they were or who they belonged to.

It was a second later before he replied, and he sounded a little strained. "Yeah, I'm okay." He paused. "Are you guys fine there?"

"Yeah, we're cool," Cloud responded.

"I'm fine here, but I think Rane is about to burst into tears from fright," Seifer said.

"I'm not!" Rane protested. "You're such a doofus, Seifer."

Lynx smiled despite her nervousness. "I'm glad to know you guys are still yourselves," she teased lightly.

"Listen, there's something all of you need to know," Sephiroth said, his voice suddenly serious. "There are …spirits. Ghosts, if you'd like. In disguise. These spirits can form into anything and anyone you know, and they're …powerful. Not physically, but mentally, they can play your minds and draw you into a spell. Just be careful; just because you see somebody who looks like someone you know doesn't mean it's really them. And …you gotta kill these spirits …or else."

Lynx felt a chill running down her back as she and Cloud exchanged glances. "You're freaking me out, Sephy," she said anxiously.

"I know," Rane piped in, her voice worried. "But, how do you know? Have you bumped into one of these disguised phantoms before?"

There was a short pause. "Yes. I just want you guys to open your eyes wide and watch out for each other, at least, until you separate. And don't forget, the less time you're by yourself in these mazes, the better it is. Until then, take care."

Cloud shook his head. "This is way too eerie for my liking," he muttered. "I don't like this place."

"Tell me about it," Lynx replied, biting her lower lip. "I never liked ghosts. Or worse, transforming ghosts."

"Ooooooo …I am …a ghost …" a ghastly mocked whisper that was unmistakably Seifer's idiotic voice filled the earpiece. "Behind you …"

"Seifer, shut up!" both Lynx and Rane cried in unison.

Seifer started cackling. "You girls are such chickens."

"It's not funny, Seif," Lynx snapped at her brother. She had a really bad feeling about this whole thing. She didn't like spirits or ghosts or any of these paranormal beings. Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, she turned to Cloud, glad that he at least wasn't afraid of these things.

But Cloud was staring at something ahead of them. "Hey, Lynxie, look …" he said slowly, tugging Lynx's arm.

"What?" Lynx yelped, glancing around nervously.

Cloud didn't have to say anything. As they stared incredulously, right ahead of them, Seifer and Rane were approaching them.

"Hey, guys!" Rane exclaimed as she hurried towards them. "I'm so glad to see you both!"

Lynx was numbed with bewilderment. She shrank back against Cloud, who was slowly wielding his sword.

"Cloud, is this …is this …the …" she didn't finish her sentence.

Cloud inhaled sharply, his face pale. "I think so. But …they look so much like …"

"Cloud, did you miss me?" Rane asked sweetly as she inched closer to him. She put a cold hand on his cheek, and the next thing he knew, they were in the middle of nowhere; no longer in the realm.

"Get away from me!" Cloud snapped, his heart pounding quickly. He felt so strange; standing in front of him _had_ to be Rane. It couldn't be anyone else …how could anyone look so much like Rane? It was implausible.

The familiar crystal blue eyes filled with tears. "But, Cloud …don't you love me? I love you so much; I never want to leave you. We could just be together now, can't we?" she said tearfully.

Cloud stared at her, literally feeling his conscience tearing into two. "No …you're not Rane," he said, shaking his head although he wasn't even certain himself. He felt as if a dark curtain was slowly being lowered in front of him, slowly obstructing his conscious mind.

"How can I not be Rane?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Don't you remember me anymore, Cloud? Don't you remember all the good times we had …the memories we shared? How can you throw it all away?"

_If I don't kill her now, I'll never survive this …_Kill her. Kill this person in front of him who looked so much like the love of his life. He raised his sword a little, but then he lowered it again. He shook his head in despair.

"No," Cloud breathed helplessly, feeling his breathing increasing._ I can't kill her. I can't …kill her._

Rane was gazing into his eyes gently. "I want you to remember me …and our memories," she said softly. "You remember that night we spent at that hotel in Gold Saucer? Did that mean anything to you, Cloud? Because it means everything to me …and you know it."

It was as if shattering a glass shield around him. As he stared into her eyes, he felt his guard breaking apart. "Of course I remember. It was the first time we …" Cloud trailed off, ignoring his conscience. It seemed as if his heart was speaking now, not him.

Rane's eyes clouded over. "It was the first time we made love," she whispered quietly, touching his cheek with one hand.

Cloud stared at her, remembering vividly. Hearing the words being spoken aloud sent a painful pang into his heart. It was like ripping open a healing wound again. _It has to be Rane …how can anyone else possibly know so much about us …?_

"Yes, it was," he said finally, his voice thick with emotions. He felt as if he was under her spell. "It was the moment that made everything with you even more perfect than it already is."

"Of course. So why do you want to kill me?" she said, tears filling her eyes.

"I don't …" Cloud trailed off, his mind whirling confusingly.

Suddenly, like ice water being flung into his face, he heard Sephiroth's urgent voice inside his mind, yelling,

"_Cloud! Snap out of it and kill her now!"_

As if jolting awake from a spell, Cloud looked at the person in front of him, and he saw the fleeting change of expression that could not possibly have been Rane's. It was then that he knew.

"_Do it before she pulls you under her spell!"_ Sephiroth urged.

Cloud raised his sword and in a swift motion, before he could change his mind and get mesmerized again, slashed it directly into her chest, momentarily shutting his eyes tight. He may as well have been stabbing a knife into his own heart. But instead of blood spurting out, the phantom dissolved into nothingness, and when he opened his eyes, he was back in the realm. _It wasn't her …_Cloud thought, his heart beating furiously as he lowered his weapon. _I should have known. She would never have been that way to me …not after all we've been through ..._

A sudden depressed emotion descended in his heart, and, as if its weight was too much of a burden for him, Cloud lowered himself to the ground, pulling up his right knee to his chest while propping his arm on it. Then he closed his eyes and put his head down on his arm, feeling emotionally exhausted.

_During all that while …_

Seifer had pulled Lynx away from Cloud, and suddenly, they were in a different place …that couldn't possibly be in the realm because it was bright and sunny.

"Listen, Lynxie, I know this probably isn't the right time," Seifer said to Lynx. "But when this is all over, I promise I'll never bother you and Zell again, okay?"

Lynx stared at her brother, uncertain. "What …why are you telling me this now?"

"Look, I know I've been idiotic. And I know you don't deserve that from me, because …you're my little sister." Seifer hesitated. "I guess I'm just too overprotective of you."

Lynx took a deep breath. "But you're always mean to Zell, although I've told you numerous times to be nice to him."

Seifer nodded, looking guilty. "I know, Lynx, and I want to apologize for that. Will you forgive me?" he pleaded, reaching out to grasp her hand.

_Don't believe him, Lynx, this isn't Seifer …it's supposed to be a phantom, remember?_ But as she stared, she couldn't believe that this was _not_ her brother Seifer. It cannot be …he looked and acted exactly like her brother. She hesitated. "Do you really mean that?" Lynx finally asked, her resolves slowly crumbling.

"Of course. I –"

"_Lynx!" _It was Sephiroth. The urgency in his voice seemed to jolt her awake. _"Don't get tricked; it's not him! You have to kill him now!"_

Lynx stumbled backwards, lifting her weapon. Before she could object herself, she closed her eyes and attacked the phantom who looked so much like her brother, all the time while repeating to herself, _It's not my brother …it's not my brother …, _as if it would make it less painful for her to be doing such unspeakable act that she otherwise would never even think of.

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the realm, staring at Cloud who was sitting on the floor. Her breath was still rapid, and she slowly calmed herself down as she walked towards Cloud. It wasn't until she brought her hands to her face that she realized there were tears on her cheeks.

_About twenty minutes later …_

"This place is so freaky," Rane said as she walked rapidly with Seifer. "I mean, I cannot imagine what I would do if I get lost in this creepy place. It's the absolute pits."

"Don't worry; if we ever do get lost in this place, I'll go get help. In the meantime, you can stay put in one spot and not go anywhere else so I can come back and find you," Seifer replied.

Rane glowered at him. "Right. You go get help? More like you'll run away and ditch me in this freaky place leaving me all by my lonesome to be attacked by God-knows-what sort of ghosts in here," she corrected him, rolling her eyes.

Seifer grinned. "Wow, how do you know me so well?"

"Practice, Seifer Almasy," Rane said dryly as she continued walking. "When you have friends like yourself, it's like having a death wish and a ticking time bomb at the same time. Never know when you'll go off. But then again, you bombard me with your stupid remarks every two seconds, it's not surprising that I eventually got used to it. In the meantime, my super-powered brain picks up your typical, snide comebacks _and_ gradually adapts to your strange brain filled …with …" Rane soon realized that she had been talking to the air. Puzzled, she glanced around. "Seif?" Then she saw him still standing a few feet behind her, staring at something she couldn't see with a serious expression on his face for the first time ever. She frowned at him. "Seifer, stop mucking around. Let's go," she said impatiently, although she didn't like that faraway look on his face.

Seifer turned his head to her direction, then walked towards her, shaking his head. "Man …" he muttered. "That was strange. I swear I saw –"

"Seifer!"

Both Seifer and Rane turned at the familiar voice. A split second later, Lynx appeared behind him.

Seifer jumped back in surprise as if he was on fire. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "What – what are you doing here? I thought I saw you, but –"

Rane reached out, grabbed Seifer's arm and yanked him, her alertness level instantly increasing. "Seifer, don't! It's not her!" she said urgently.

Lynx actually frowned at her. "What? Of course it's me. Why wouldn't it be me?" she snapped.

Seifer glanced uncertainly from Rane to Lynx, then back to Rane. "What …I don't believe in things such as ghosts, Rane," he said firmly.

"Yes, ghosts? That's very funny," Lynx scoffed. "Seifer, come on. Don't listen to her; I got more important stuff to talk to you." She reached out to grab Seifer's arm.

"No! Wait!" Rane screamed, trying to pull Seifer back, but she was too late. The two of them disappeared before her eyes, leaving her alone in the realm.

She took a few steps back, her heart pumping in fear. She was cold with fright, and she didn't know what to do. Pressing a button on her mouthpiece to talk, she said in an urgent, trembling voice, "Sephy! Are you there?"

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth's voice replied.

Rane closed her eyes, trying to gulp down her fear. She didn't want to think what was happening to Seifer right now. "I think Seifer just got lured. Someone who looks like Lynx was –"

"I'll deal with it. Stay right where you are, Rane; don't go anywhere," Sephiroth interrupted, his voice solemn.

"I want to ask a favor of you," Lynx said to Seifer, smiling up at him.

Seifer looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"Well …after all this is over, I'm going to meet Zell's parents, and I want you to come with us. It'll be sort of like a family get-together –"

"Meet with Zell's parents?" Seifer exploded. "Why in the world would I want to do such thing?"

Lynx's smile disappeared and she stopped, staring at him. "But, Seif, it's probably the only chance we all get to sit down and talk like a family!" she protested.

"With _Zell_?" Seifer scoffed. "Puh-leeze. I have better things to do with my time. Why can't you go yourself?"

Lynx's eyes watered. "Why are you being so difficult?" she cried. "Zell and I are engaged. It's supposed to be a family reunion dinner, and who else do I have but you as my family? I have no one, and now you wouldn't even do this for me!" Her voice was choked, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

Seifer looked at her, hesitating. "Lynx, it's not that. I just feel that it would be hard for me to strike up conversations with them. I hate feeling awkward; you know that!"

"But can't you do this for me, just once?" Lynx pleaded, tugging his shirt.

"I really don't –"

A familiar voice that seemed to invade his mind interrupted him.

"_Seifer, you gotta kill her! It's not Lynx; it's a phantom trying to draw you into a spell, and then kill you! You have to kill her now before that happens!"_ It was Sephiroth's voice.

Seifer stumbled back, puzzled. "What …" How the hell did Sephiroth get into his head?

"_Just do it before it's too late!"_

Kill his sister? Seifer stared at Lynx in front of him, her cheeks wet with tears, her eyes sad. _How can I possibly kill her?_

"It's insane," Seifer said, starting to feel alarmed. "I can't do that!"

"_Seifer, listen to me. You _have_ to kill her! It's not Lynx! Just do it!"_

Lynx was staring at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

It was impossible that this wasn't Lynx. His heart was heavy as Seifer drew out his gun blade, and slashed the phantom before he could have second thoughts. A pang of remorse hit him like bricks as he realized he had killed his own sister. _No …it's not Lynx, remember? It's not her …_a voice inside him said.

His surroundings gradually changed, and soon, Seifer found himself back in the Underworld realm.

"Are you guys ready?" Loz asked his two brothers as he walked towards them. "I was just about to set it off."

Yazoo glanced at him. "You mean our defense?" he asked, a quiet smile playing on his lips.

Loz nodded. "Yeah. Just came in to check on you guys …" he looked over at Kadaj. "Should I set them out?"

Kadaj looked at him, then nodded slowly. "Do it."

_Outside the realm …_

Reno lowered himself to a crouch, exhaling heavily. He hoped there wouldn't be any other enemies around for a while; he needed the rest, even if it was only going to be temporary.

"How long have they been in there?" he heard Elena's voice over the earpiece. She sounded tired. He wasn't surprised.

"Almost …three hours," Rude replied. Then he executed a huge yawn. "I'm going to fall asleep anytime now. Why can't we get some Soldiers to deal with this?"

"I know what you mean, Rude, but aren't you forgetting something? This is a personal revenge for me," Tseng pointed out. "I want those guys dead, in my hands."

Reno yawned. He didn't feel like responding to their conversation. It _was_ personal for _him._ Rane was in there with Cloud, while he's stuck on the borders of the realm by himself, fending off any enemies that sensed his presence. After all of this was over, he knew what to expect. Either Rane would choose him or Cloud, or …she wouldn't choose any of them at all. Especially after the fight that morning. Reno rubbed his temples with one hand, then ran his fingers through his red hair. He had to admit, he was surprised that Cloud would resort to such violence in front of Rane. What exactly was he trying to prove?

Elena was asking, "Do you think we could communicate with them?"

"Of course. What do you think these stuff we're wearing are for?" Tseng replied.

Elena sighed. "I know, I know. I just thought that maybe because they're in the realm, we can't communicate with them."

"I was talking to Seifer earlier, and he was telling me about something strange going on in the realm. Something about the spirits in there trying to lure him into a spell that eventually kills him," Rude told them.

There was a pause.

"Serious? What happened?" Tseng asked.

"I don't know. He said he saw his sister, and he was talking to her but apparently it wasn't her; it was a phantom in disguise. Then he said something about Sephiroth talking to him telepathically, and that freaked him out," Rude went on.

"That's creepy," Elena said, her voice anxious. "I hope they're okay in there."

"We'll check up on them later," Tseng reassured. He paused. "Reno, you there?"

Reno snapped out of his reverie. "Uh, yeah. I'm here. What's wrong?"

"You weren't talking. I thought something happened," Tseng said.

Reno yawned. "I'm just tired. Beat, man. And they haven't even made it to the center yet."

"I'm hungry. Can I take a break?" Rude complained.

"I've been hungry since two hours ago," Reno told him. "Now I can't feel my stomach an –" he broke off when he felt a low tremor on the ground beneath him. He stared at the rocks on the dry earth as they jiggled on the shaking ground. "Um, guys…what's happening?" Reno asked the others as he slowly got to his feet.

"What the hell is going on?" Rude exclaimed.

"I don't know," Tseng said, his voice sounding anxious. There was a clicking noise, then he said, "Hey, you guys in the realm. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, we can. What's up?" Lynx asked.

"Something's happening," Elena told her. "The ground is shaking, and …somehow, I really don't think it's an earthquake."

"Are you guys alright inside? Is something happening?" Tseng asked, a note of urgency in his voice.

"We're fine …there's no quakes here or whatsoever," Rane replied.

"Turks?" It was Sephiroth. "Listen. You guys gotta get together right now. Go gather at the northern border. I'm not sure what's going on, but if something happens, it's better if there're four of you than just one."

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'm already running to the north border," Elena said.

Reno was trying to keep his balance as he glanced around curiously to see what was really happening. As far as he was concerned, he couldn't see anything; except that the vibrations were getting stronger. "Do you guys see anything?" Reno asked. "Because I don't. I would really like to know what's causing this tremor." Just as he said that, he saw Elena running towards him from one side, and Rude and Tseng from the other. "Oh. Never mind, you're all already here."

"Alright, now what do we do?" Rude panted.

Reno turned to him and opened his mouth to say something, but before any words could come out, he heard a deafening, guttural roar that sounded too familiar.

"Oh my God –" Elena gasped as the ground in front of them began to split open and something emerged from the ground.

Reno felt his jaw slacking in stunned shock. "Weapons?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Weapons?" Even Sephiroth sounded surprise.

"Oh my God –" It was Lynx.

"Shit! This isn't a good time at all. I'm _not_ in the mood of fighting these Weapons!" Rude growled.

"No way. That's impossible," Rane breathed, sounding as shocked as they were. "Sephy, what's happening? Why are there Weapons? Are they trying to get into the realm?"

Sephiroth hesitated. "I'm not sure. I've got a really bad feeling about this …" he paused.

The Weapons were advancing towards them as they spoke.

"You?" Reno snorted. "Hey, at least be grateful that you're not facing what …four Weapons …not …one …" he gulped when he realized the seriousness of the situation. "Oh shit. We're doomed, man. _Four_ Weapons? That's …one …for each of us."

"No fucking way!" Rude yelled as he withdrew his weapon. "There's no way I can defeat any of them by myself!"

"Elena! Watch out!" Reno shouted, his voice rising in panic as he saw the Ultimate Weapon leaping towards Elena.

Elena leapt into battle with the Ultimate Weapon, as Rude raced over to help her. In the meantime, Tseng was speaking heatedly into his cell phone as Reno listened.

" …we need backup right _now_ – the situation is serious, Rufus …What? We're wearing trackers, you should be able to track where we are right now …Seriously, man I'm not kidding, there are four fucking Weapons about to attack us – no, wait, one of them is attacking –" Tseng's eyes widened when he saw who were fighting with the Ultimate Weapon. "Elena!" he screamed, shoving his cell phone to Reno, who was standing there dumbly, as he withdrew his own weapon. "Reno, grab this!" Without hesitating, he ran off to join the battle with the Ultimate Weapon, leaving Reno holding the phone in his hand, stunned.

He heard Rufus's tinny voice, and lifted it to his ear numbly. "Hello? What the hell is going on over there?" Rufus demanded.

"It's Reno, man. Listen, Tseng, Rude, and Elena are fighting with the Ultimate Weapon right now as we're speaking and there's three more behind them probably waiting, I don't know shit, but man, you gotta –"

"I've just dispatched enough backup for you guys to cover half a continent, so just hang in there," Rufus told him calmly.

"Are you sure they're tough enough? The last thing we need is five hundred dead bodies scattered all over this damn place," Reno said.

"They're tough, don't worry, and there's enough of them to weaken the Weapons," Rufus informed him.

"Alright, thanks, man." Reno hung up the call, and slipped it into his pants pocket. Before he could take one step to rush over to the ongoing battle, he felt something swipe at him.

"Whoa!" Reno cried, ducking just in time to avoid the claws of the Ruby Weapon. He brandished his own weapon, readying himself for the attacks. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. He cast a barrier upon himself, then started attacking the Weapon. He summoned Knights of the Rounds first to buy him some time.

"Reno, you okay? Rude, go help him!" Tseng instructed.

"No, man! If there's more than one of us fighting with this bastard, he'll just pull us down into his whirl sand!" Reno protested. "We can't have more than one of us battling with Ruby!"

"Are you guys alright out there?" Cloud's voice floated over the earpieces.

"Uh – I think so," Tseng replied. "Rufus is sending backup over, but –"

"Don't worry about us; you guys go ahead in there," Elena shouted over the noisy roars of the Weapons.

Reno inhaled sharply as he saw the Emerald and Sapphire Weapons seeming to get more restless.

"Shit. We haven't even finish off these guys, and the other two are getting restless," he grumbled as he summoned another Knights of the Rounds. He really couldn't be bothered wasting time and energy on attacks and magic.

"Sephy, do you want us to turn back and help them?" Lynx asked.

"No! There's no point of doing that, Lynx; by the time you guys arrive we'll probably finish them off," Rude protested. "Just go on and concentrate on your journey!"

"But –"

"He's right, Lynx. Look, we should've expected something like this before we started this journey," Sephiroth said.

"I don't get it. What does this have to do with the Planet's Weapons?" Rane interrupted, her voice sounding worried. "Who awakened the Weapons?"

There was a sharp silence as the question digested in everyone's minds. The answer to the question was obvious enough to halt everyone's train of thoughts.

"No way," Lynx said weakly. "Those silver-haired guys – know we're coming in?"

"That's impossible. We took all precautions to be careful while coming in," Seifer argued.

"Any foreign presence in the Underworld can be sensed if you have the right powers," Sephiroth said quietly. "It's just a matter of how quickly they can sense us. Right now, I'm certain they know we're inside."

Reno was half-listening on their conversation. Although he knew what they were saying were important, he couldn't falter one bit in his attacks and defense, or he would probably end up dead in the stupid monster's whirl sand. He cast Ultima on Ruby, then Regen on himself.

"With the way things are going now, the borders will be unprotected. We can't split up, Seph," Cloud said finally. "It's much too dangerous."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. You guys …just continue ahead on whatever path you're on. Don't split up; we don't need any more obstacles," Sephiroth told them.

Reno summoned another KOTR, and then the Weapon began to wither away, and eventually disappeared. _It's not over yet,_ he thought wearily.

When Rynn opened her eyes, the world in front of her was tilted sideways. It wasn't until she jolted up to a sitting position that she realized she had been asleep on the ground. She was probably drugged or something. She stared ahead, then slowly glanced around. She was inside some cylindrical-shaped glass tank that looked as if it were meant for laboratory experiments.

Her heart beating furiously, she clambered to her feet, and walked over to one edge of the glass. Through the lightly green-tinted glass of the tank, she could make out five others, all arranged in a circle. In the middle of the circle was a panel of buttons and a strange-looking machine.

"Oh my God," she gasped when she realized what the tanks and the machine were for. "No. No way. I am not some kind of laboratory specimen!" She slammed her palms on the glass, but there was no one around. "Let me out of here!" she screamed, her heart racing. "You're not getting the Ultimate Sphere from me or my friends, you bastards!"

Rynn stepped back, breathing hard. She turned around, walked over to the other side of the glass tank, and peered out. A ghastly face stared back at her, and she screamed in shock, jumping back. When she got back up, she couldn't see anything else. She didn't dare to go too close to the glass anymore. But as she stared, she could vaguely make out blurry figures, silhouettes floating by, darkening in shape, and then disappearing again.

Tears of fear gathered in her eyes. She was trapped in a place that had strange ghastly phantoms. And she couldn't break out of this glass tank. Those three guys had stripped her of all her materias and her weapon. She had nothing. There was no way out.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

'Our Lifestream, Our Sacrifice'

"How are you guys doing?" Sephiroth asked into his mouthpiece as he slowed down. He knew where exactly he was, and he knew he was very close to the center, but he didn't want to move in until he heard from the others. He lowered to a crouch in a darker corner of the maze, waiting for reply.

There was a slight pause as he heard the static noise clearing.

"Our backup is here, but we're still fighting against the Emerald Weapon," Tseng informed him. "He's one stubborn asshole, but …we're getting there. Somehow."

"We've got all the four borders covered again, with the dispatched soldiers. Not quite reliable, but it'll do for the time being. Where you at?" Reno asked.

"Pretty close," Sephiroth replied in a low voice. "You guys hang in there, alright?"

"Yeah, you too, man. Catch ya later," Tseng said, then disengaged the connection so the static wouldn't bother the others.

"I didn't know the Emerald Weapon could come out from underwater," Lynx remarked.

"Well, obviously this is an exception. We didn't know the Weapons were going to attack," Seifer replied.

"We're going to have to hurry. Seph, how close are you to the center?" Cloud asked. He was speaking in a low, quiet voice as if trying not to attract any attention to themselves.

Sephiroth glanced around. "Um, close enough. Where are you guys?"

"Not too far away. Are you going to give us the cue later?"

"Yeah, once you're all in place. Seif, Rane, what's your position?" Sephiroth asked.

"We're lagged behind a bit. I'm fine, but Rane, on the other hand …she just threw up before," Seifer informed everyone. "Right now as I speak, I'm dragging her with one hand because she can barely stand."

"Seif! I didn't – I mean, I –"

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Cloud asked, his voice tinged with concern.

"I'm alright! It's not as bad as it sounds, and Seifer isn't dragging me. I'm walking fine now," Rane protested.

"Are you sure, Rane? Maybe …it's because of this place here, that's why you felt sick," Lynx said.

"I – I don't know. I just felt – nauseated and dizzy before …and ..." Rane trailed off.

"Thank God you weren't behind me, or else I would've killed you if you'd threw up all over my coat," Seifer said.

"Go away, Seif."

"Can you handle yourself now?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah, I can. Don't worry, you guys; it's nothing," Rane reassured. "Listen, Sephy, we'll let you know when we get there, okay? Just don't start anything without us."

There was a pause. "I'll hold off for a while and wait for you guys, but I can't do that for long. If I stay in one position for longer than probably five minutes, they'll find me. On the other hand, I'm sure they already know that we're here. So …I'll see what I can do."

"Be careful, dude. I don't wanna get up to the center and find that they've taken another hostage," Seifer warned. "At any cost now, we can't afford for one more of us to get captured."

"Don't worry. I can handle myself," Sephiroth replied with a hint of smile in his voice. "You guys take care. Ciao." He clicked off his communicator, then straightened up from his crouching position. He could already see the ominous-looking green cylindrical glass tanks from where he was standing. But before he could take another step, he glimpsed a glint of reflection, and then the unmistakable swoosh of a sword slicing through the thin air.

"You even so much as blink, your precious little girlfriend will be vaporized," a voice behind him said quietly.

Sephiroth stood still, waiting, lowering his green eyes to the long, thin sword poised in front of him, the sharp edge of it facing him menacingly.

"Let her go. You know you're not getting the sphere from us," he said.

"Is that so?" Kadaj slowly stepped out in front of Sephiroth, his left hand still holding up the sword steadily. He stopped and stared at him. "The Great Sephiroth. How great are you exactly? I want to know. Ironic, huh? I hate your guts, but …I look just like you."

Sephiroth stared back at him. "What do you want?" he asked finally.

"What do I want? I want your bleeding heart in my hands so I can squash it with hatred." Kadaj cast a mean grin. "That's what I want. But …the Master wants the Ultimate Sphere. So I can't do that. Just yet." He took a step forward, bringing the edge of the sword closer to Sephiroth's neckline.

"I told you; you're not getting the sphere from us. You're just wasting time," Sephiroth said calmly.

"Really? You sound pretty sure of yourself. I wouldn't if I were you. Because one thing I know for sure …" Kadaj pressed the edge of the sword against Sephiroth's throat. " …none of you are getting out of here alive. No one escapes the Underworld."

Rynn didn't know how long she had been sitting there, with her knees pulled up to her chest tightly as if to protect herself from any evil in the place. She was trying to calm down, constantly pushing away her fears, so she could think. Think of a way to escape. She stood up, this time examining the inner structure of the glass tank. The glass was thick, about an inch or an inch and a half thick, so it would be impossible for her to try and break the glass with her bare hands. She wished she was superhuman, but she wasn't.

She looked up at the top of the glass tank, and saw tubes running in and out through the metal cap of the tank. Just looking at it made her shudder with fear. She glanced away. No way out there. Then she lowered to a crouch, examining the base of the tank. It was made of metal, but she couldn't see anything that she could pry open or something.

Straightening up, Rynn exhaled in frustration as she pushed back a lock of her hair. It was infuriating. How the hell did they get her in here if she can't even find something that could possible lead to the way out?

_There _has_ to be a way out,_ Rynn thought in exasperation. _I can't be stuck in here._

Outside the realm, in the midst of the battle with the Emerald Weapon, the gigantic monster turned red after Rude's umpteenth KOTR attack on him.

"This – he's dying, isn't he? Please tell me he's dying!" Elena cried in anticipation.

"Uh – um, I think so. He doesn't look too good, though, I think –" Reno broke off when the Weapon unleashed a deafening roar and, instead of disappearing or dying, it leapt into the air suddenly, startling everyone.

"What the f*** is happening?" Rude yelled, stumbling backwards, partly from exhaustion, but mostly from getting all pumped up to run away as fast as he could.

"Everybody f**kin' run for your life!" someone screamed. "It's gonna blow!"

"It's not gonna blow! Nobody move!" Tseng shouted at the soldiers, holding up his hand to stop them.

Reno could only stare at the Weapon. As everyone watched in horror, the massive monster cast its laser attack on the Underworld realm, splitting it into two right down the middle, then, with a ferocious roar, hurled itself into the realm.

"No!" Elena screamed as she ran towards the realm, with the borders now ripped apart. "No! He's going to kill them!"

"Elena, don't!" Rude shouted, running after her.

Reno's face was ashen, and he felt dizzy. He couldn't believe this was happening. All their efforts of trying to keep the Weapons from attacking the realm went down the drain just like that.

"Tseng, what – ?" he could barely croak out the words.

Even Tseng, who usually had a knack of finding a way out of messy situations, was stunned. There was despair on his expression, clearly defined. "I don't know, Reno. We've lost connection with them."

"Rane – and all of them – they're still in there," Reno said in a rough voice, his voice cracking.

Tseng turned to the rest of the Turks, the anguish etched in his grave expression. "We did our best, guys. We tried. There's nothing else we can do."

"Say hello to your little friends," Kadaj said to Sephiroth as he forced him towards the center of the realm. It was a huge clearing encircled by six tanks, with a row of panels and machinery in the middle.

To Sephiroth's horror, Rane and Seifer emerged from the south side of the clearing with Loz, whilst Lynx and Cloud appeared from the west side with Yazoo.

"Well, well, well. Talk about a reunion," a vaguely familiar voice smirked at them.

"Hojo," Sephiroth said flatly as his gaze followed to the center of the clearing, where a man slowly rose from his seat behind the row of panels. He wasn't the least bit surprised to see the ex-Shin-Ra scientist.

"Did you say hello to your girlfriend? She's just right there," Hojo said, gesturing at one of the tanks. As Sephiroth followed his gaze, he heard a gasp from one of the girls.

"Oh my God! Rynn!" It sounded like Lynx.

"Let me out of here!" Rynn screamed, slamming her fists against the glass. "Sephy! Don't let them get you!"

Kadaj laughed mirthlessly. "A little too late for that, isn't it, honey? We've already got them. All six of them."

"Let her go," Sephiroth snapped at Hojo harshly.

"Let her go? Dear Sephiroth, do you know what it takes for me to find the Ultimate Sphere? You have no idea," Hojo replied, his voice turning serious. "Now I've got the six of you right in front of me, the six of you who stole the Ultimate Sphere, and you want me to let you go?" He threw his head back and let out a wild cackle that made Lynx and Rane grimace. "Keep on dreaming." Then he turned to his three minions, and smiled at them. "You three have done a great job. I couldn't ask for a better hunter. Not only you found the Ultimate Sphere …but you also brought Sephiroth back."

"You're not getting the Ultimate sphere from us!" Lynx cried. "It's not going to be as easy as you think!"

"Shut up!" Hojo shouted. He walked over and glared at each one of them. "Gast created the sphere, but he's dead. I want it back because the six of you don't have the right to possess this sphere."

"There was no such rule about the sphere," Cloud interrupted calmly. "Anyone is entitled to the possession of this sphere as long as he's powerful enough to withdraw it from the peak of Mount Gaea. That someone was Sephiroth."

Hojo stared stonily at him, then raised a hand showing a remote device. "Enough of this bullshit. I want to get down to work." He shook the device, a little smile playing on his lips. "Once I press this little button, your friend in there will be doused with cyanide gas. Then, our good old Lifestream will fill the tank, slowly dissolving any solid particles in it with the help of cyanide. Sounds good so far? The radioactive material in the sphere that had been initially infused in her body will then be separated, and gathered. The same will be done to the rest of you people. Once I get the leftover substances from each of you, I can have the full sphere again." He signaled to three of his men. "Get them in the tanks."

"No! You're not getting me anywhere!" Rane screamed as Loz grabbed her arm and began dragging her. "You're not –" Before she could finish, an earsplitting explosion shook the entire realm beneath her and threw everyone off guard. She felt herself losing balance as the ground beneath her tilted and quavered violently, and reached out to grab hold of something solid. An earth shattering creaking sound grabbed her attention, and when she glanced over her shoulder, she realized that the ground was splitting into two, and the six glass tanks were cracking and breaking into pieces. She struggled to her feet and attempted to run over the crack in the ground to get to the other side where everyone – Sephiroth, Lynx, Seifer, and Cloud – were helping Rynn out of the broken tank, but she screeched to a halt and gasped when she saw the hole that the split had caused. It seemed to go on forever, and as she stared, horrified, she could see the green glint of Lifestream in the base of the hole.

"Rynn!" Rane screamed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but what about you? You have to get back on this side!" Rynn shouted back, her eyes wide with panic.

"I'm trying – look out!" Rane cried when she saw Kadaj and Yazoo, angered by the disruption, leaping towards them. Before she could think of finding a way to get across the crack in the ground which was gradually increasing in width, someone grabbed her arm roughly from behind.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hojo snarled at her. "This isn't over yet!"

"Go to hell!" Rane yelled, her voice full of hatred as she yanked her laser blade out, and launched into a furious battle with Hojo in his true form. She cast MBarrier on herself and then attacked him with her limit break, Heartless. He didn't hesitate to attack back, but she counterattacked, and this time, she summoned KOTR and prepared herself for the next attack. His next attack was more powerful than she had expected, and she readied herself to attack with W-Summon, Mime, and KOTR, but before she could do that, she heard a thunderous roar coming from somewhere very close to them, and the next thing she knew, something enormous slammed into the center of the realm, and disappeared into the pit, taking with it half of the ground in the realm center.

At that moment, all battles were disrupted and ceased. Rane grabbed onto one of the machinery as she felt the ground tilting steeper towards the opening, her heart beating furiously.

"Oh God! That was – that was Emerald Weapon!" she heard Lynx cried from the other side. "What – didn't the Turks stop it?"

"Rane!" Rynn shouted as she stretched out an arm over the edge. "Jump over here, I'll grab you!" The tremor in the ground was getting more severe by the second. "Hurry, we don't have time!"

"Rynn, it's eight feet apart! You guys go ahead, I'll find a way out!" Rane told her urgently.

"No!" Rynn hollered. "I'm not leaving you here! Please, just jump! We'll grab you!"

"Come on, Rane! This place is going to crash!" Cloud shouted.

Rane took a deep breath as she looked down at the pit, at the shimmering Lifestream seemingly a thousand miles down, and her heart lurched. Then, without any further thoughts, she released her grip on the machine, started running, and leapt across the eight feet wide gap. Before her fingers could grasp on the loose rocks on the edge of the crack, Rynn and Cloud reached out and grabbed her arms.

"Thank God!" Rynn breathed in relief, her cheeks flushed from panic. She pulled Rane up, then hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Come on, we gotta split!" Seifer shouted. "You okay, dude?"

Rane nodded, catching her breath, her heart thumping so fast, her anxiety levels skyrocketing. She barely even noticed that he had called her 'dude'. "Is everyone alright?" she asked. "Where did those guys go?"

"Hojo fell into the gap when Emerald went smashing into the ground," Cloud filled her in as they started running out. "We defeated Kadaj and Yazoo, but I don't know if they're dead. I didn't see Loz, so I think he fell into the gap too. Either way, it doesn't matter. They're not going to make it alive."

The cracks in the ground were rapidly increasing, stretching out in every different direction like spider webs. A large piece of rock fell and crashed into the gap, sending shock vibrations throughout the whole place. With Sephiroth and Cloud leading them, the others followed loosely, darting from side to side to avoid the falling rocks.

"How the hell are we gonna get out of here?" Lynx cried as they ran.

"We've got to get as far away from the gap as possible," Sephiroth instructed, glancing over his shoulder back at her.

"This whole place is falling apart! There're gaps and holes everywhere you look," Rynn pointed out.

"Here! I found a clear passage that doesn't look as bad. Come on, hurry up!" Seifer called out to them, gesturing wildly. He was standing at the entrance of a pathway a little higher than where the rest of them were standing.

Before they could move one step, a web of blue bolts shot through and split them apart from one another, shocking them.

"What –" Lynx gasped, her eyes wide.

Rane whipped her head around and her heart sank to the bottom when she saw Loz standing behind them, his eyes fiery and filled with rage.

"You're not going anywhere!" he shouted, then without warning, fired two shots at Rane, who was within the closest range, with his Velvet Nightmare. The impact slammed her against the crumbling rocky walls, and half of the rocks on the wall crashed onto the ground.

"Rane!" Rynn shrieked, starting towards her sister

Cloud came running out of one of the tunnels. "No! Rynn, you guys go ahead! I'll deal with this," he shouted, gesturing for them to move on. Rynn was staring at him, uncertain. "Go ahead!" he urged. "I'll take care of this!"

While the rest moved towards the path that led upwards and around the realm to a possible exit, Cloud brandished his sword and faced Loz. He was standing between Loz and Rane, who was struggling to her feet.

"Rane, are you alright?" Cloud shouted, his voice tinged with concern.

"You killed my brothers, now you're going to get killed," Loz snarled. Before Rane could react, he unleashed the powerful Ultima and blasted it at them. The blow only threw Rane off her feet, but as Cloud was within a much closer range, he fell backwards onto the edge of a gap that was rapidly widening, the bottom of it gurgling with Lifestream.

"Cloud!" Rane screamed, her hand reaching out to grab him just as he was slipping off the crumbly rocks. The instant her fingers grazed his arm a jolt, like an electricity shock, triggered up her arm and throughout her entire body. She felt herself starting to fall in a vast speed, and the next thing she knew, she was crashing onto Cloud in a strangely familiar place. Disoriented, Rane clambered to her feet shakily and stumbled back, taking in her surroundings. It seemed as though she was standing in the middle of space – the platform of broken black rock underneath her was the only thing in the vast, black space; there was nothing else. It wasn't until she saw Cloud slowly rising to his feet, that she realized with a deadly thud in her heart what was really happening.

As she watched in stunned, sheer horror, the blond hair gradually transformed into silver, the Mako eyes to two angry slits of emerald green, the blue-edged sword to a long, thin sliver of weapon.

Kadaj. The leader of the silver-haired men.

Not Cloud.

Rane couldn't breathe. Her mind was racing so fast she couldn't stop to think. _These spirits can form into anything and anyone you know, and they're powerful …_They weren't spirits. They were the silver-haired guys, trying to lure them, trick them; trying to weaken them somehow.

"Enough of thinking." Kadaj smiled furtively as he stepped one leg back and raised his sword slightly. "Now …it's revenge time."

Rane pulled out her sword, her breathing rapidly increasing. "What do you want? You know it's over. You're not getting anything from me," she snapped.

"What do I want? Funny you should ask." Kadaj slowly stepped to his side, his green eyes fiery. "You killed my brothers, you killed the Master, and now you're standing there acting like nothing happened?"

"Your brothers –?" Rane didn't know what he was talking about. Loz had been the one who attacked them; and then, Kadaj, disguised as Cloud, pretended to save her, but …

"You're pretty slow, aren't you? It amazes me that up until now, you still don't understand the true powers that we possess. Because of you, Loz and Yazoo are dead. They were my brothers." They were facing each other, moving in slow circles tentatively.

"I didn't kill your brothers, or Hojo," Rane shouted heatedly, her palms starting to become clammy.

"Oh, you didn't? Well, I guess – then I should be punishing your little friends instead," Kadaj said mockingly.

"No!" Rane burst out, taking a step forward. "No! Leave them alone!"

Kadaj tsk-tsked. "How touching. You're going to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your friends."

"I'm not sacrificing myself for anyone. _You're_ the one who's going to join your brothers!" Rane shot back, then leapt forward and attacked him.

Kadaj wielded his own sword to halt her attacks, and the second their swords clanged against one another, Rane felt that same, electricity shock jolting through her body, and the next thing she knew, they were back where they were, where the fake Loz had attacked them.

"There she is!"

"_Rane!_"

Rane glanced up and saw her sister and her friends, almost at the top of the path on the other side leading out of the realm. She didn't have the opportunity to say anything to them as Kadaj jumped towards her and slashed his sword at her. The sounds of their swords clashing with one another were drowned by the roaring of Lifestream in the gap next to them. With each slash she felt her strength rapidly draining, but she couldn't give up now.

"Rane, hang in there!" Cloud shouted as he was running back towards them.

"Cloud, be careful!" Lynx cried.

As Rane stumbled back to cure herself quickly, Kadaj summoned Supernova – a summon that only Sephiroth ever used – on her. The impact of Supernova reduced her strength to almost nothing, and before she could even so much as lift a finger, he began charging a massive bolt of green-blue light with his left hand, and, aiming his hand downward into the opening that split the rocky ground, blasted the bolt of energy into the gap.

The blast shook up everyone, literally. The impact of the blast was so powerful that as it hit directly the surface of Lifestream at the base of the gap, the already-cracking earth started to split and crack violently, whilst a massive jet of Lifestream erupted and spurted out through the gap. Rane felt herself losing balance, and this time, there was nothing she could hold on to. Everything happened so quickly; she felt herself falling, her hands grasping the loose rocks on the edge of the gap.

"Let's see how you get yourself out of this mess!" Kadaj shouted, and to everyone's shock, he leapt straight into the gap, into the Lifestream.

"Rane, give me your hand!"

Rane looked up and saw Cloud reaching down towards her with one arm. Just as she was about to tighten her grasp on the rocks to lift one hand up, something tugged at her left foot, yanking her down. She screamed as she felt herself sliding down the steep surface.

"Rane! Grab my hand!"

"I _can't_!" Rane screamed, the weight on her left foot increasing. "Something is –" She turned her head and forced herself to look down, and to her ultimate terror, she saw Kadaj, still alive and uninjured, hovering just above the surface of the gushing Lifestream, his left hand raised, with a web of bolt-like element shooting out of it, the bolt of which was slowly tugging at her foot, dragging her downwards.

Cloud had somehow reached forward and managed to grasp her fingers. "Rane, come on!" he shouted. "You can do it, just a little bit higher!"

Rane felt as if her left foot was about to be ripped apart. If she fell into the Lifestream, the overwhelming energy in there would definitely kill her. "No, I can't!" she cried, shaking her head. "Cloud, just go! He'll kill us all!"

"No!" Cloud yelled, his Mako eyes burning with mixed emotions. "I'm not leaving you here!"

"Rane, please! Grab his hand!" Rynn was yelling.

Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared up at him, at her friends. She felt a sense of hopelessness; that told her, she knew it was the end.

"Cloud, If you don't go, Rynn and everyone else will die!" she cried, her voice breaking. "You have to go. Do this for me, please! Get them out of here!"

Cloud's grasp on her fingers tightened, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. "If you fall, I'll jump in with you. I don't care, Rane, I'm not leaving you like this," he uttered, his eyes glistening with tears. "This is not …how we're supposed to end."

"No, it's not," Rane sobbed, feeling her fingers gradually slipping loose. "But –" She didn't finish her sentence. A sudden, hard tug on her left foot ripped her away from Cloud's grasp and the next thing she knew, she was crashing into the gigantic opening.

"_Rane!_" Cloud yelled. Without any hesitation he dove in after her.

"No!" Lynx and Rynn screamed in unison from where they were standing, being held back by Sephiroth and Seifer.

"No! Rane! Cloud!" Rynn screamed wildly, trying to struggle free from Sephiroth's grasp. "Let me go! I have to get them!"

"You're just going to get yourself killed, Rynn!" Sephiroth shouted. "We have to go! This place is going to blow up!"

Time seemed to slow down. Cloud summoned all his strength into KOTR, and, as he was falling in, he blasted it at Kadaj. Kadaj, weakened and taken aback by Cloud's attack, then fell into the Lifestream.

Scarcely a split second later, Cloud and Rane both tumbled into the gurgling green Lifestream, their hands intertwined, and the second that their bodies hit the energy stream, everything suddenly came to a halt. The realm stopped quivering, the rocks stopped falling apart, and the cracks in the ground stopped splitting and widening up.

Then, once again, everything turned silent as death.


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

'Can't Let Go'

_I don't know if I will be back. Please …don't wait for me …_

He remembered her words, the words that sent shards of pain into his heart, although he tried to ignore it. Maybe she knew what was coming; maybe she had known, all along, that he wasn't the one.

Reno Langley trudged on the sandy beach with his friends, and everyone else. As he stared at the sun, slowly setting in the horizon, he remembered her. He remembered the moment when he sat on the beach with her outside the Turks' quarters back in Balamb City. It seemed like a thousand years ago.

They had died for one another.

The pain in his heart was ripping his entire being apart, so much so until he didn't know what he could do to erase the agony away.

He remembered their playful time on the ship to Junon, when they were still biting off each other's head. He remembered the way she looked at him through her tears when she had seen her boyfriend, and her cousin, making out. The agony in her eyes should've been enough to make him realize that she would never stopped loving Cloud, but it didn't. He had been ignorant, foolish enough to ignore the signs, and walk down this path that eventually led to his own agonizing hurt.

The minister was saying, " …we stand here today, to mourn for our dear friends who had been sacrificed in such a tragic incident. Until our last breaths, they will remain in our memories forever. They may be gone but we know their souls will only return to the Planet, once again, as a whole being. They may be gone but we will hear and see them everyday, we will feel their presence and their strength everyday of our lives, we will share and keep their joyful reminiscences with us …"

Reno could hear the quiet, wretched sobs of Rynn and Lynx standing close to him. Never in his entire life had he expected he would face something like this one day. He wished, now, although he knew it was too late, that his last words to Cloud hadn't been in anger. He should've simply let him and Rane to be together. And he remembered last night they had together, before they went to the tragic journey into the realm – he recalled thinking, as he held her, that it may be the last time he could hold her in his arms. If he had known that it really would have been the last time, he wouldn't have let her go.

The session was over as quickly as it had started, and he barely remembered what the minister had said. As everyone started to leave, Reno walked towards the beach, and lowered himself to a crouch.

_I love you, Rane. How could you leave me like this?_

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and even without turning, he knew it was Rude. Reno lowered his head, shutting his eyes, and almost involuntarily, the tears sprang to his eyes. Rude placed his arm around Reno's shoulder and hugged him to his side, as the wave of tears poured out of him like a tidal wave. It didn't matter what the minister had said. She may be gone, but she would never smile or laugh at him again, she would never hug or touch him again, she would never kiss or caress his cheeks again. She was gone. Reno would never be able accept it, even if it takes him a thousand lifetimes. As much as he can try, he would never be able to say goodbye.

He couldn't let go.

* * * The End * * *


End file.
